Anycast DNS
Authoritative DNS should not have a home region.
Unicast DNS is a single path. If that path is congested or attacked, every lookup for the zone slows or fails — before the application even sees a request.
Cloud DNS advertises the same authoritative service from 210+ Anycast servers. Resolvers use a nearby available path, including during DDoS events.
Why teams use Aptranet
What Anycast DNS looks like on this network.
Cloud DNS answers on 210+ Anycast servers, with GeoDNS, health checks and a one-second minimum TTL for change.
210+ Anycast servers
Queries are answered from distributed infrastructure instead of one nameserver pair.
DDoS-protected authority
The DNS layer is designed to stay reachable under volumetric attack.
Fast change propagation
A one-second minimum TTL and rapid configuration distribution support production change.
How to set it up
A cutover you can validate before DNS moves.
Create the Cloud DNS configuration, prove it on an Aptranet hostname, then point production DNS when the path looks correct.
- 1Create the zone
Import existing records into Cloud DNS.
- 2Delegate the nameservers
Point the parent at Aptranet Anycast NS records, or vanity nameservers.
- 3Lower TTLs when you need to move
Use low TTLs ahead of a cutover, then raise them if you want.
- 4Add steering once authority is stable
GeoDNS, weights and health checks sit on the same Anycast service.
Outcomes
What changes once the hostname is on Aptranet.
- The zone is served from 210+ locations
- There is no single unicast nameserver target
- DDoS is absorbed at the DNS layer
- Steering features share the same footprint
Keep reading
Related pages
More DNS use cases on the same Cloud DNS footprint.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Cloud DNS is authoritative. It answers for zones you host, not general public recursion.
A zone has one set of nameservers. Delegate subzones if you must split authority.
No. Anycast is how the authority is reached. Records and policies still decide the answer.
Yes. Cloud DNS supports IPv4 and IPv6 records and transport.