root servers

[Mark_Andrews at isc.org]

> 
> phn at icke-reklam.ipsec.nu wrote:
> > 
> > Damien SOULIER <damien.soulier at free.fr> wrote:
> > > I have one question and i can't find any answer.
> > > Why there is only 13 root servers.
> > > If someone can give me an answer, it will be fine.
> 
> ..snip..
> 
> > -  13 is pretty much he limit to pack in one answer.
> 
> Provided that answer packs down to 512 octets or less, which is
> when older resolvers switch from UDP to TCP and bump up the work
> load required to supply the list of root name servers as an
> answer.
> 
> So more than 13 would increase the work load, I assume also for
> many referals. I guess it would be a lame hack to hack the root
> name servers, and them up the size of the zone just to see if it
> could be used to grind the Internet to a standstill.
> 
> Of course there could be more than 13, if they were meddling
> with the routing underneath to create multiple copies of the
> same server around the world, but they haven't done that yet
> AFAIK, but there was talk of multiple F's.
> 

	There are a lot more than 13 machines behind the 13 addresses
	associated with ?.root-servers.net.  Almost/all of the
	address have multiple machines with a frontend distributing
	traffic between them.

	F is just going to use bgp to distribute the load to multiple
	boxes in addition to using frontend boxes to distribute the
	load between the local cluster.

	Mark
--
Mark Andrews, Internet Software Consortium
1 Seymour St., Dundas Valley, NSW 2117, Australia
PHONE: +61 2 9871 4742                 INTERNET: Mark.Andrews at isc.org