Re: Anycast root metrics and analysis

[Robert Elz <kre@munnari.OZ.AU>]

    Date:        Thu, 2 Nov 2000 17:52:07 -0800 (PST)
    From:        hardie@equinix.com
    Message-ID:  <200011030152.RAA19714@nemo.corp.equinix.com>

  | Any chance that you can run an aroot instance from where you
  | are so that we can gather more data to prove your second point?

I can run a server easily enough.   But I am not close enough these
days to the routing system to be able to impose ASs or routes to the
magic anycast address (nd certainly not to verify that it is done
properly).   So, I doubt that I can really help a lot in any useful way.

Is there no-one in Australia participating in the test now?   (Not that
I am in Australia right now in any case).

On the "anyone can run their own server"  .. with the anycast scheme
they can't really be stopped, and other than by filters in other providers
access lists, they can't really be prevented from offering transit either
should they want to.   But there's more to the stability of the DNS system
than just getting the answers back as quickly as possible - the database
needs to be properly maintained and updated.   What's more the comparative
stability of the root zone actually makes that harder (it is easy to set up
and test update procedures for a database that changes every day, much
harder for one that only changes once a year or so).  More servers spread
around improves access, but decreases trustworthiness of the data.  The
two need to be balanced.

kre

ps: where I am now I am getting 1.8second RTTs to home (at least 1.2s to
any root server) and approx 30% packet loss ... I know what benefits there
are to be obtained from this.