APNIC is now hosting the first new M-Root anycast instance deployed under the recent agreement between APNIC, the WIDE Project and Japan Registry Services (JPRS) to expand M-Root DNS services in the region.
The M-Root anycast node has been installed in one of APNIC’s Brisbane data centres and is connecting to two Internet Exchange Points (IXPs).
This first node was also used to trial the deployment model between APNIC, JPRS and WIDE, with the process working very smoothly.
APNIC has supported the deployment of 33 DNS root server instances throughout the region since 2000, but this Brisbane deployment is APNIC’s first M-Root server instance.
WIDE and JPRS jointly operate M-Root, with instances located in Japan, South Korea, France, the United States, and now Australia. The latest deployment is the 10th M-Root server instance worldwide.
Following the success of this first deployment, the WIDE Project, JPRS and APNIC plan to greatly expand M-Root’s footprint throughout the region to improve DNS reachability, resilience and response times for Asia Pacific ISPs and end users. It is hoped that at least 10 new M-Root anycast instances can be deployed in 2021.
Increased root server distribution provides higher performance DNS lookup, independent of the user’s location, as the request can be dealt with by a closer instance of the nameserver. It also improves the resilience of global DNS infrastructure.
New M-Root instances established under the MoU will prioritize major Internet interconnection locations as well as underserved locations, with hosts such as diverse IP transit providers and carrier-neutral IXPs.
The APNIC, WIDE and JPRS team is now working to identify hosts throughout the region who are well placed to provide M-Root services to their area. If your organization is interested in hosting an M-Root instance, please get in touch directly to discuss via rootserver [at] apnic.net.
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