DNS Request Routing with Intermediary Authentication and DOS Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Large enterprises face challenges in managing complex DNS records due to cumbersome authentication processes, user errors leading to inadvertent DNS zone creation, and vulnerability to Denial of Service (DOS) attacks on authoritative DNS servers.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a DNS Ownership Intermediary API that uses shared authentication credentials and load balancing across separate authoritative DNS servers to manage DNS requests, validate user inputs, and protect against DOS attacks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate authentication is implemented for each user accessing the authoritative DNS server, then user-specific access control and auditability are improved, but authentication complexity and processing overhead increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary authentication service that sits between users and the authoritative DNS server. This service handles all authentication requests, validates user credentials, and manages session tokens. The DNS server itself does not perform authentication,而是 relies on the intermediary to verify user identity and permissions. This mediator approach maintains security and auditability while significantly reducing authentication complexity at the DNS server level.
2Reliability
If all DNS requests are routed to a single authoritative DNS server, then centralized control and security policy enforcement are improved, but the system becomes vulnerable to DOS attacks and single points of failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the authoritative DNS functionality into multiple independent DNS servers distributed across different locations. Each server maintains the same DNS zone data and can independently resolve queries. This segmentation eliminates the single point of failure, distributes the attack surface to prevent DOS attacks from overwhelming a single server, while maintaining centralized security policies through the intermediary authentication service that enforces consistent access control across all segmented servers.
3Productivity
If users directly access the authoritative DNS server to modify DNS records, then direct control and real-time updates are improved, but user errors can cause inadvertent DNS zone creation and system instability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary validation and confirmation steps before allowing DNS record modifications. The intermediary authentication service checks user permissions, validates the requested changes against security policies, and requires explicit user confirmation for critical operations. This preliminary action prevents user errors from causing inadvertent DNS zone creation while maintaining real-time update capabilities through the streamlined authentication and validation process.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatuses are described herein for management of a Domain Name System (DNS) system. The system comprises numerous improvements, many related to CNAME records of the DNS. A computing device may manage authentication for a DNS using shared authentication credentials of a first authentication framework. In this manner, a wide variety of users might authenticate themselves using a first framework and use authentication credentials for a second framework to access a DNS. The computing device may further protect DNS servers from Denial of Service (DOS) attacks by bifurcating read and write requests to a DNS to different servers, such that attacks on read requests do not affect all of the DNS. The computing device may further validate DNS requests using, for example, natural language processing to avoid typographical errors inadvertently creating DNS zones.