DNS health checks
Connect endpoint health to the record resolvers receive.
Static DNS will keep handing out an address after the application behind it is gone. Operators should not be the health check.
Cloud DNS health checks monitor configured endpoints and use that state so non-responsive infrastructure is left out of eligible answers.
Why teams use Aptranet
What DNS health checks looks like on this network.
Cloud DNS answers on 210+ Anycast servers, with GeoDNS, health checks and a one-second minimum TTL for change.
Continuous endpoint monitoring
Checks run against the targets you configure, not against a single probe region you forgot.
Answers follow health
GeoDNS and weighted pools can exclude unhealthy endpoints automatically.
Pairs with a 1-second TTL
Once health changes, resolvers can pick up the new answer quickly.
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.
- 1Choose what to probe
HTTP, HTTPS or the check type that matches how the endpoint should be considered up.
- 2Attach checks to record sets
Only endpoints that pass remain eligible.
- 3Set a TTL that matches failure RTO
Health without a usable TTL still leaves resolvers on a cached dead answer.
- 4Alert on check failures
DNS failover is not a substitute for knowing that a region is down.
Outcomes
What changes once the hostname is on Aptranet.
- Dead endpoints can leave DNS automatically
- Geo and weighted policies honour health
- TTLs can be low enough to matter
- Operators still see the failure
Keep reading
Related pages
More DNS use cases on the same Cloud DNS footprint.
Frequently Asked Questions
Design check sensitivity so transient blips do not churn answers. Rehearse failure in staging.
No. Health checks decide DNS eligibility. Application monitoring still explains why a target failed.
Plan the empty-set behaviour with Aptranet. Do not assume DNS can invent a healthy target.
Cloud DNS supports IPv4 and IPv6 records. Probe the addresses you actually publish.