Root Server

A domain name system (DNS) is like a phone book for the internet, it turns www. websites into IP addresses that devices can read. Root servers are DNS name-servers that operate in the root zone. These servers can directly answer queries for records stored or cached within the root zone, and they can also refer other requests to the appropriate Top Level Domain (TLD) server. The user then can get the content from the server or post data to the server as needed. The DNS is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource participating in the Internet. The top of that hierarchy is the root domain.

The TLD (Top Level Domain) servers are the DNS server group one step below root servers in the DNS hierarchy, and they are an integral part of resolving DNS queries. Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is the global non-profit organization responsible for coordinating the Internet’s core systems of unique identifiers, most notably the Domain Name System (DNS). By having the privilege of the Root server, cyber-attacks, hackers intrusion can be controlled.

Root servers are an essential part of the infrastructure of the Internet. Web browsers and many other internet tools would not work without them. There are 13 different IP addresses that serve the DNS root zone, and hundreds of redundant root servers exist around the globe to handle requests to the root zone. Each root server is a network of hundreds of servers in countries worldwide. Out of the 13 Root servers, the US owns 10 Root servers and whereas, The Netherlands, Sweden and Japan have each one of the root servers.

Today each of the 13 IP addresses have several servers, which use Anycast routing to distribute requests based on load and proximity. Right now there are over 600 different DNS root servers distributed across every populated continent on earth. However, there are nearly 1,000 mirror servers in the world and establishing mirror servers will help speed up internet access

The internet in China is totally different from the global internet. The Great Firewall censors the content that is transferred between inside and outside China. Last year, Russia also introduced its Digital Economy National Program, a plan that would require Russian internet providers to remain functional in the event the country was cut off from the worldwide internet.

It is good to notice, the move by The Department of telecom has taken the first step and fixed December 2022 as the deadline for internet service providers to customize their network as well as change modem and routers at customer premise for the services as per the internet protocol address, IPV6.

The growth in the number of devices connecting to the internet has fuelled demand for IPv6 addresses. IPv6 increases the IP address size from 32 bits to 128 bits. With proliferation of IPv6 addresses, India can create its own secure internet by setting up its own root servers for communication within countries geographical boundaries.

Under the present global regime, the internet can stop working if any of the root servers are switched off. With an indigenous root server, India can continue to communicate within its own jurisdiction after transition to IPv6.

Theoretically, every country will have its own root server, IPv6 is pivotal for Digital India. To support 5G and related technologies like machine-to-machine, internet of things etc we need IPv6.