Redirecting Aging DNS Infrastructure

It was said of the Chicago stockyards that they used every part of the pig except the squeal. The same can be said of the Internet search industry. For some time, ISPs and others, including no-cost DNS provider OpenDNS, have been squeezing every last penny out of Internet search by providing alternative suggestions when users misspell the domain name of their intended Web destination. While often problematic, as Steve Loughran writes, for some client systems, it’s hardly nefarious. Search is now a well-established commercial activity. For example, no-cost OpenDNS does a good job of offering corrections to users’ fumbled keystrokes and otherwise makes a good college try of getting users to their intended Web sites. What is highlighted in this case is the ubiquitous and aging DNS infrastructure. WiscNet and eWEEK Labs recently teamed up to look at several vendors, including Alcatel-Lucent, BlueCat Networks and InfoBlox, to update and better manage their DNS service for the education and research network in Wisconsin.