Three New Root Server Copies in the LACNIC Region

27/02/2019

The National Network of Ecuadorian Research and Education (Cedia), the Association of University Interconnection Networks of Argentina (ARIU) and the ISP Altarede Corporate of Brazil were selected by LACNIC for installing anycast copies of the I root server operated by Netnod following the call for proposals issued the last year within the framework of the +RAÍCES Project.

These three new copies of the I root server —the original server is installed in Sweden— join those already deployed after the first call for proposals issued by LACNIC and Netnod, which resulted in the deployment of copies in Paraguay, Mexico and Chile.

The deployment of these domain name system I root servers in the LACNIC region was agreed between LACNIC and Netnod in 2015 and is part of the +RAICES Program, an initiative of the Regional Internet Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean. The agreement between LACNIC and Netnod was based on the shared vision of both institutions regarding the role that root server copies should play in Internet security, stability and resilience.

Guillermo Cicileo, Head of Internet Infrastructure Research and Development at LACNIC and responsible for this program, stressed the benefits of installing these anycast copies. He noted that each copy increases the redundancy and robustness of the DNS within the region: “When using anycast technology, domain name resolution information will be sent to and obtained from the server closest to the network to which we are connected. This means that root servers are not concentrated in any specific region: they are decentralized and distributed worldwide as we manage to install additional copies.”

Cicileo explained that the connection of any user of the network to the Internet begins with a query to the DNS and the root servers. Having a root server, added Cicileo, guarantees shorter waiting times for users, as queries are solved locally. Most importantly, faced with a potential loss of international service or an interruption of an Internet provider’s services, the network can continue to operate.

The Head of the +RAICES Program noted that the I root server has certain other advantages as, in addition to the root zones, it also provides information about Top Level Domains (TLDs). “This represents an additional advantage in terms of efficiency: queries for subdomains of those TLDs will also be solved locally and almost immediately, therefore reducing DNS resolution times,” concluded the expert.

Thirty-one interested organizations. Thirty-one organizations from different parts of the region replied to last year’s call for proposals for the installation of I root server copies, so the decision might be made to support another institution in addition to the three projects that have already been selected.

I root server copies are already being deployed by Altarede Corporate, ARIU and Cedia. Altarede Corporate is a pioneer in Brazil providing high-speed data and voice solutions over optical fiber and microwave radio in the state of Rio de Janeiro and authorized to operate throughout Brazil.

Likewise, the Association of University Interconnection Networks of Argentina (ARIU) brings together the network managers of approximately 50 Argentine national universities and university institutes to facilitate communications at national and international level.

The third organization selected for installing an anycast copy of the I root server, Cedia, includes 49 educational institutions, the vast majority of which are Ecuadorian universities, with a 100G ring nationwide and several datacenters for hosting the service.