Getting DNS Right: Principles for Effective Monitoring

This is the second of two parts. Read Part 1: How to Get DNS Right: A Guide to Common Failure Modes Monitoring DNS is not simply a matter of checking whether a record resolves. A comprehensive approach follows four key principles: Test from multiple networks and regions to avoid blind spots. Validate both correctness and speed, since slow answers can harm user flows even when technically valid. Measure continuously, not periodically, because many issues manifest as short-lived or regionalized incidents. Compare control plane changes to real-world propagation patterns to ensure updates are applied as intended. DNS monitoring is most effective when it targets specific signals that reveal problems with record integrity, server behavior and real-world performance. The key groups of tests: DNS mapping. DNS record validation. DNS performance measurements. DNS Mapping Mapping tests verify that users are directed to an appropriate DNS server based on location. This matters because the closest healthy server usually provides the fastest response. If a user’s request is sent across a country or to another continent, latency increases and resilience decreases. Different managed DNS providers use different methods to determine which server responds to a query. Many compare the geographic location of the querying IP Continue reading