The domain name system is basic infrastructure for the Internet. Working DNS underlies most operations, and yet it appears to be a black box to a very large number of system (and network) administrators.

This talk is aimed at anyone with a basic knowledge of Unix and the Internet with an interest in DNS, and ensuring site availability.

We cover:

- The basics of DNS
- Registrars and registries
- Running your own recursive resolver
- Running your own authoritative nameserver (starting from the root).
- Scaling the DNS system, including multiple servers and anycast
- Building a reliable DNS system
- Distributing global traffic with GeoIPs and CDNs.
- Securing DNS