DNS Load Balancing with Global Traffic Director

There’s no getting around web optimization in our digitized world, and in fact, it’s common practice for websites across industries. But the mistake many companies make is not optimizing their DNS traffic. That’s where Constellix’s Global Traffic Director (GTD) comes into play. 

In this product spotlight, you’ll learn all about GTD and why it’s a must-have in your DNS strategy.

What Is Global Traffic Director and What Does It Have to Do With DNS?

Global Traffic Director is a sophisticated DNS traffic management tool designed to optimize your DNS. This advanced GeoDNS technology is a load balancer that lets you route DNS traffic according to end-user location and regionally-based systems.

How Does Global Traffic Director Work For Load Balancing?

Behind the scenes, GTD is a complex system that intelligently balances DNS queries via strategically-placed global nameservers. Configuring it for your domain, however, is quite simple—you just have to play by the rules—regional rules you can set for yourself.  

In Constellix, you can optimize your query traffic by six different regions:

1. North America East 
2. North America West 
3. Europe
4. Asia-Pacific 
5. South America
6. Oceania 

Once configured, GTD works by answering queries via the nameserver closest to a user’s location. For instance, if a person from Florida is visiting your site, they would be best served if their query was answered by a nameserver in the North America East region. On an unoptimized network, it’s plausible that a Florida user may end up being answered by a nameserver on the West Coast, or even another continent in a worst-case scenario. 

Another use case for GTD is if you wanted all Asia users to resolve to a server located in China. To achieve this, all you would need to do is configure a DNS record for the Asia-Pacific region (see below for an example of how GTD looks in Constellix).

When DNS traffic isn’t routed efficiently and with purpose, it can negatively impact your overall user experience. This is because every online request starts with a DNS lookup. It’s important you start off on the right foot, so to speak.

Benefits of Using Global Traffic Director ForDNS Traffic Optimization

GTD provides your domain with higher query resolution accuracy and a more streamlined DNS lookup process. Since traffic is routed based on regional resources, your domain’s customer experience is improved and you’ll see noticeable gains in performance. 

You can also combine GTD with other Constellix services, such as DNS Failover service for added redundancy, IP Filters, Geo Proximity, and more. Combining these additional products with Global Traffic Director will help protect your domain from DDoS attacks, internal server or network outages, and keep individual endpoints from becoming overloaded. 

Global Traffic Director Domain Pricing

Constellix operates on a pay-per-usage model and has some of the most competitive pricing in the industry. For GTD-enabled domains, customers pay only an additional $5 per domain per month. MSPs and large enterprise-level organizations can benefit from GTD volume pricing: $1.00 per domain per month for 2-25 domains and $0.10 per domain when using GTD for more than 25 domains under a single account.

DNS Traffic Optimization For Ultimate Performance

Website speed and performance have never been more important than they are today. As all online activity begins at the DNS level, it’s crucial to include DNS in your optimization strategies. Constellix offers an advanced  Global Traffic Director load balancer that complements other critical DNS features your domain needs to achieve maximum success.