Introduction
Anycast DNS is important for NIS2 (Network and Information Systems Directive 2) for several reasons related to security, performance and reliability of networks and information systems.
Amongst other things, here is why Anycast DNS should be a part of your NIS2 implementation plan:
Improved performance and availability
Anycast DNS means that there are multiple DNS servers spread across different geographical locations worldwide hosting your online resources (websites, apps, email, etc.). When a user makes a DNS request, it will automatically be routed to the closest or best performing server. This reduces latency and improves response times, which is crucial to ensure that services are available and fast, a key objective of the NIS2 Directive.
Increased robustness and resilience to attacks
Anycast DNS helps to distribute traffic and can handle the load from large amounts of requests, including traffic floods like those involved in Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Spreading requests across multiple servers reduces the risk of a single server becoming overloaded and going down, improving the system's resilience to attacks - an important aspect of meeting NIS2's stringent security requirements.
Redundancy and high availability
Because Anycast DNS uses multiple geographically dispersed servers, Anycast DNS offers "built-in" redundancy. If one server goes down or becomes unavailable, traffic can be redirected to another server without interruption of service. This ensures high reliability and continuous operation, which is in line with NIS2 requirements to minimize downtime and ensure continuity of services.
Easier management of traffic peaks
With Anycast DNS, traffic can be dynamically redistributed based on current load and network conditions. This helps manage traffic peaks efficiently and prevents overloading of individual servers, which is critical to maintaining service performance and reliability under varying traffic conditions.
Improved geographical spread (resilience- and availability)
By using Anycast DNS, it is easier to serve users that are spread out geographically as DNS requests are routed to the nearest server. This is particularly important for entities that have to meet NIS2 requirements in multiple EU countries or broad areas, as it improves the user experience and ensures that services meet local performance and availability requirements.
Regulatory compliance
For organisations that must meet specific regulatory requirements, using Anycast DNS can meet redundancy and continuity of service requirements. This can be crucial to ensure that services are both secure and available in accordance with regulatory requirements.
Do you know if your existing DNS service meets the NIS2 requirements?
Take the first step towards NIS2 compliance and perform a health check on your existing DNS service:
