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DNS changes to take minutes (instead of hours)

Atlas shrugged

VeriSign is to rapidly update Domain Name System (DNS) records every few minutes instead of only twice a day. From 8 September changes in the .com and .net zones will take an estimated five minutes to propagate across all 13 .com/.net authoritative name servers. The old systems will remain there for those who don't want to make the leap forward.

The biggest benefit of the change will be to do away with the need to wait hours for change in a domain to become visible on the Net. VeriSign has successfully tested the changes, which involve an update to its proprietary authoritative name server (ATLAS) technology, over recent months. It reckons the changes are now ready for prime time.

In a posting to the NANOG sysadmin group, Matt Larson, of VeriSign Naming and Directory Services, said: "VNDS does not anticipate any negative consequences of deployment of rapid updates to the .com/.net zones. However, as a courtesy we are providing the Internet community with 60 days advance notice of the change to the update process."

Which is nice and a pleasant change from the way VeriSign introduced its controversial SiteFinder service last year without any notice, much less consultation. VeriSign has published an FAQ on its proposed changes to the DNS system here. ®

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