Best Managed DNS Solutions
Managed DNS providers offer a cloud-based solution for managing your domain name system (DNS). It delivers computing power to customers and facilitates their web-based traffic. These providers pool datacenter resources to power traffic across numerous customer websites, applications, and networks. Users access a web-based dashboard or desktop application that allows them to control DNS traffic to prevent failover, authenticate visitors, and manage DNS data. Some Managed DNS services offer security features for protection against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
Businesses of all sizes rely on managed DNS solutions to improve website performance, enhance security, and ensure high availability. Whether you're a small startup or a large enterprise, the best managed DNS providers can help you manage your IT operations and deliver a better user experience.
Managed DNS providers offer various features including a global network to reduce latency and improve website load times, and DNS analytics to gain insights into your DNS traffic and identify potential performance issues.
Many managed DNS providers also serve as domain registrars or provide domain registration services. When not included in a managed DNS offering, these registration services do not allow the same network traffic control capabilities. Instead, they simply enable users to reserve website domains.
Best Managed DNS Providers At A Glance
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- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Cloudflare is the cloud for the “everywhere world”. At Cloudflare, we have our eyes set on an ambitious goal -- to help build a better Internet. Today, everything needs to be connected to everything
- Web Developer
- Software Engineer
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer Software
- 64% Small-Business
- 26% Mid-Market
219,471 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Amazon Route 53 is a cloud-based Domain Name System (DNS) that help developers and businesses to route end users to Internet applications by translating names like www.example.com into the numeric IP
- Software Engineer
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer Software
- 38% Mid-Market
- 31% Small-Business
2,227,575 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
IBM® NS1 Connect is a managed service for authoritative DNS with internet traffic steering capabilities that empower fast, reliable and secure connections to users anywhere in the world. It is suited
- Computer & Network Security
- Information Technology and Services
- 49% Mid-Market
- 30% Enterprise
708,445 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
The most award-winning and highly-rated WordPress managed hosting, plugin, and reseller platform. Since 2006, WPMU DEV's award-winning WordPress plugins, hosting, world beating support and site manage
- Owner
- CEO
- Marketing and Advertising
- Design
- 96% Small-Business
- 3% Mid-Market
158 Twitter followers
- Overview
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- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
ClouDNS is the biggest European provider of global Managed DNS services, including GeoDNS, Anycast DNS and DDoS protected DNS. We also offer Monitoring, Domain names and SSL Certificates.
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 87% Small-Business
- 11% Mid-Market
1,252 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Azure AD Domain Services provides managed domain services such as domain join, group policy, LDAP, Kerberos/NTLM authentication that are fully compatible with Windows Server Active Directory.
- Information Technology and Services
- 65% Mid-Market
- 21% Enterprise
14,002,563 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Azure DNS allows you to host your DNS domain in Azure, so you can manage your DNS records using the same credentials, billing, and support contract as your other Azure services.
- Information Technology and Services
- 30% Small-Business
- 26% Mid-Market
14,002,563 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
DNSimple helps you manage your Domains and DNS. Simple Domains with registration, transfer and renewal. Simple DNS with Enterprise-grade DNS services for all of our users and Simple SSL to secure your
- Computer Software
- Information Technology and Services
- 75% Small-Business
- 18% Mid-Market
6,213 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
NIOS is the industry-leading on-premises DDI solution of choice for demanding enterprise and carrier needs.
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 57% Enterprise
- 30% Mid-Market
11,109 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Reliable, resilient, low-latency DNS serving from Google’s worldwide network
- 38% Small-Business
- 13% Enterprise
32,644,140 Twitter followers
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
BloxOne™ DDI is the first and only cloud-native DDI solution that simplifies DDI control and management at scale.
- Information Technology and Services
- Computer & Network Security
- 52% Enterprise
- 26% Small-Business
11,109 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
The Worlds Largest and Most Trusted Free Dynamic DNS Provider. Since 1999.
- 54% Small-Business
- 31% Mid-Market
20,265 Twitter followers
- Overview
- Pros and Cons
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Nameshield is a domain name registration service provider.
- 64% Mid-Market
- 27% Small-Business
- Overview
- User Satisfaction
- Seller Details
Neustar UltraDNS is an enterprise grade, cloud-based authoritative DNS service that securely delivers fast and accurate query responses to ensure users can navigate to vital online assets. Whether you
- 42% Enterprise
- 37% Mid-Market
11,076 Twitter followers
Learn More About Managed DNS Providers
What is Managed DNS?
Managed DNS is a service that offers a convenient alternative by allowing businesses to outsource the hosting and administration of their authoritative DNS records. These records essentially map a domain name to its corresponding IP address, ensuring proper website accessibility. This crucial system translates user-friendly domain names (like "www.company.com") into numerical IP addresses (like "192.168.8.51") that computers understand. Whenever you enter a website address in your browser, managed DNS providers perform a quick lookup to find the corresponding IP address, directing you to the intended website.
What are the Common Features of Managed DNS Providers?
The following are some core features within the best managed DNS providers that can help users make the most of them:
- Efficient resources and reliable infrastructure: To maintain a DNS system, organizations need technical expertise, real-time visibility, and proper infrastructure in place. The resources of a managed DNS provider make sure that the system is up and running. These providers have servers located around the world to prevent failure due to network latency and offer a global network security for speed and resiliency.
- Load balancing: Managed DNS providers ensure distribution of traffic across application endpoints for efficient use of the company’s infrastructure.
- Real-time routing: Intelligent DNS service providers utilize real-time data logs and monitoring capabilities to route traffic based on data from multiple sources to avoid downtime.
- Advanced analytics and reports: Managed DNS providers offer advanced analytics such as log generation, DNS queries, monitoring requests, traffic data analysis, IP health checks, and usage and downtime patterns to give organizations visibility into their unique DNS traffic.
- Technical support and DNS migration: DNS service providers are qualified to handle large, global outage-free DNS migrations. Skilled engineers help in transitioning DNS for numerous domains quickly while ensuring website uptime.
Types of Managed DNS Providers
Managed DNS solutions can be categorized based on their features, pricing models, and target audiences. Consider factors such as the provider's reputation, features, pricing, and customer support when making your decision. These are the types of best managed DNS providers.
- Dynamic DNS Service: Dynamic DNS (DDNS) is a service that allows you to update the IP address associated with a domain name dynamically. This is especially useful for devices with fluctuating IP addresses, such as home routers or mobile devices. DDNS providers offer a simple interface to update the IP address record for your domain, ensuring that your website remains accessible even when your IP address changes.
- Geolocation-based DNS Service: Geolocation-based DNS services route traffic to servers located closest to the user's geographic location. This helps to reduce latency and improve website performance for users around the world. By directing users to servers in their region, geolocation-based DNS can enhance user experience and increase website engagement.
- Anycast DNS Service: Anycast DNS is a technique that uses multiple servers with the same IP address to distribute DNS traffic across a global network. This helps to improve fault tolerance, load balancing, and performance. Anycast DNS can also help to mitigate the impact of DDoS attacks by spreading the load across multiple servers.
- Failover and Disaster Recovery Services: Failover and disaster recovery services ensure that your website remains accessible even in the event of a server failure or other unforeseen circumstances. These best managed DNS providers typically involve setting up redundant servers and automatic failover mechanisms to redirect traffic to a backup server if the primary server becomes unavailable.
- Load Balancing Services: Load balancing services distribute traffic across multiple servers to ensure that no single server is overloaded. This helps to improve website performance and reliability, especially during peak traffic times. Load balancing can also help to optimize resource utilization and reduce costs.
- Application Acceleration Services: Application acceleration services optimize the delivery of web applications and content to improve performance and user experience. These best managed DNS services may involve techniques such as compression, caching, and content optimization to reduce load times and improve website responsiveness.
What are the Benefits of Managed DNS Providers?
The majority of the service providers have a global-level DNS infrastructure. They also have the required expertise to remediate DNS attacks. There are various advantages of availing the services of the best managed DNS services as listed below:
- Expertise and efficiency: Professional DNS management teams can handle the complexities of DNS administration, freeing up your IT resources to focus on other critical tasks. They have the expertise to design, operate, and secure your DNS infrastructure, ensuring optimal performance and reliability.
- Scalability and performance: Managed DNS providers leverage global DNS networks with multiple points of presence (PoPs) to ensure high availability and performance. This means your website can handle increased traffic and remain accessible even during peak load times or in the event of a server failure.
- Enhanced security: Managed DNS providers implement advanced security measures to protect against DNS attacks and DDoS threats. Their security teams continuously monitor and update their systems to stay ahead of emerging threats.
- Customization: Managed DNS providers can tailor their services to meet your specific needs. Whether you require failover protection, load balancing, or geolocation-based routing, they can configure their services to optimize your website's performance and accessibility.
- Cost-effectiveness: While managed DNS services may involve a recurring fee, they can often be more cost-effective than maintaining an in-house DNS infrastructure. By outsourcing DNS management, you can avoid the costs associated with hardware, software, and personnel.
Who Uses Managed DNS Services?
Growing online traffic and increasing demand for speed while loading web pages are key driving factors behind the adoption of managed DNS solutions offerings. The following personas commonly use these best managed DNS services:
- IT administrators: DNS management comprises network management and system administration capabilities. Hence, IT administrators are responsible for overseeing that the solution is properly deployed and well managed in the organization.
- Data privacy and security professionals: Data privacy and security professionals who are responsible for their company’s use of DNS systems may opt for managed DNS providers to ensure all servers are secured.
- E-commerce businesses: To ensure their online stores are always accessible and perform optimally for customers.
- Content delivery networks (CDNs): To distribute content efficiently across a global network of servers.
Software Related to Managed DNS Providers
Related Managed DNS solutions that can be used together with the best managed DNS services providers include:
- DDoS protection software: Distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection software assists in securing websites and applications against DDoS attacks. It is designed to prevent malicious traffic from reaching the organization’s network. The tool aids in preventing DDoS attacks by monitoring website traffic and setting standards for normal traffic loads.
- Cloud DDoS mitigation software: There are similarities and instances of overlap between DDoS protection software and cloud DDoS mitigation software. While the former has conventionally been used to protect local servers and networks from attacks, cloud DDoS mitigation solutions help secure multiple disparate networks, best managed dns providers, and applications.
Challenges with Managed DNS Solutions
While the best managed DNS services offer multiple advantages, they come with their own set of challenges:
- Complexity: DNS management is a complex job as it combines two essential yet disparate domains—network management and system administration. Managing a diverse system like DNS necessitates the intervention of more admins. The admins should possess the same level of knowledge and skills in more locations and come with the experience of working with different operating systems and name servers involved. Management of DNS becomes complicated even for the most experienced DNS administrator when the organization’s DNS infrastructure extends over multiple geographic locations, operating systems, and DNS deployments.
- DNS attacks: Lately, DNS security has become a major concern due to growing DNS-based DDoS attacks. DNS services are now exposed to security threats and require a tactical approach. The advanced breed of spyware is compelling organizations to reevaluate their DNS strategies. Implementing a multi-DNS system may temporarily remediate the issue, but it involves massive expenditure while adding an extra layer of IT complexity.
How to Choose a Managed DNS Provider?
Requirements Gathering (RFI/RFP) for Managed DNS Providers
Whether a company is looking for its first managed DNS provider or switching to a new one—wherever a business is in its buying process, g2.com can help select the best managed DNS provider.
An organization must first decide on whether they want to outsource the DNS management to a third-party provider or settle for a hybrid approach by complementing their existing DNS infrastructure with the third-party. Depending on the scope of the deployment, it might be helpful to produce an RFI, a one-page list with a few bullet points describing what is needed from the provider to have a successful deployment.
Compare Managed DNS Providers Products
Create a long list
Evaluation of service providers is an important step in the buying process, right from meeting the business requirements to implementation. Long lists are created by removing options that do not serve the organization’s strategy. It is essential to prepare a consistent list of questions to ask potential vendors keeping in mind the following considerations:
Provision of a global network: Contemporary DNS providers should offer capabilities and intelligent DNS solutions that provide greater speed and control with high connectivity. It is imperative to select a vendor that employs several upstream carriers to eliminate the possibilities of downtime because of outages and deal with threats to the network.
Balancing traffic load: It is crucial to check with the potential managed DNS providers on the variety of load balancing solutions they can provide—from simple load balancing to advanced configuration settings for automation of operations.
Application-based traffic control: Enquiring the kinds of traffic routing algorithms and filters offered by the managed DNS provider helps the company deploy tools for customizing the configuration of the DNS system and managing their web traffic efficiently.
Create a short list
From the long list of vendors, buyers should read user reviews, view ratings on the G2 Grid® for the managed DNS providers category, surf through useability ratings, and narrow down the list of vendors in the G2 “My List” down to a handful. With this list, companies can compare the features offered by different vendors and their pricing structures.
Conduct demos
While extensive documentation and tutorials are available on managed DNS providers’ websites, it is beneficial to request the provider for a live demo to have a better understanding of their offering.
Selection of Managed DNS Providers
Choose a selection team
The team responsible for selecting the managed DNS provider should comprise employees with the right interest, skills, and time to participate in this process. A good starting point is to aim for three to five people who fill the required roles. This can include the primary decision maker, process owner, system owner or staffing subject matter expert, technical lead, and the network and security administrator. The selection team should compare notes, facts, and figures they recorded during the process, such as the availability of advanced capabilities, usability, and security features.
Negotiation
It is vital to have a discussion around pricing and licensing. For example, the provider may be willing to reduce prices for multi-year contracts. They may also be willing to provide a range of services that can be included in the package with a minimal monthly or yearly fee.
Final decision
Investing time and effort to evaluate DNS solutions and find the right fit is important regardless of whether the solution is deployed to enhance security or optimize network performance. Prior to finalizing the provider, it is recommended to roll out a test run or pilot program to test adoption with a small sample size of users. If the service provider is well received, the buyer can be confident about their selection. If not, it may be time to reevaluate offerings from other providers.
Researched and written by Anindita Sengupta
