Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!linac!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu!uunet!shelby!riacs!cincsac.arc.nasa.gov!medin
From: medin@cincsac.arc.nasa.gov (Milo S. Medin)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains
Subject: Re: problems with nsfnet-relay.ac.uk
Message-ID: <1991Mar3.070813.29410@riacs.edu>
Date: 3 Mar 91 07:08:13 GMT
References: <1991Feb22.181958.14608@ns.uoregon.edu> <75539@bu.edu.bu.edu> <1991Feb26.092928.954@ecrc.de>
Sender: news@riacs.edu
Reply-To: medin@cincsac.arc.nasa.gov (Milo S. Medin)
Organization: NASA Science Internet Project Office
Lines: 50

In article <1991Feb26.092928.954@ecrc.de>, dave@ecrc.de (Dave Morton) writes:
|> 
|> In article <75539@bu.edu.bu.edu>, kwe@bu-it.bu.edu (Kent England) writes:
|> |> 	As I understand it, there was trouble in the transatlantic
|> |> link, which is beyond the NSFnet connection.
|> |> 
|> Sigh - I know, but why are we still going over the pond to get to the UK ?
|> Is there a reason why we cannot get the root name server in Europe operational
|> and simply go over mcsun or whatever. Hey - it's not just the UK...... 
|> Am I missing something like the politics........
|> 

The answer is not politics.  Adding a root server given the way the DNS is
currently built is serious business.  The root of the problem is that the
RTT estimation code in many servers is broken.  What this means is that 
all the root servers are normally pounded upon by DNS servers both near
and far.  In order for a new root nameserver in Europe to be used, you can't
just stick it in the named.ca file.  This file is only used on start up, and
this info is thrown away when a categorical list of root servers is 
retrieved.  Thus, a European root would have to be added to the master list
of root nameservers, and this means it would be known by all the servers in
the Internet.

Given the broken RTT estimators in most versions of BIND, deploying such a 
server in Europe would result in queries from all over the world pummelling
the transatlantic link to the European root.  This is hardly the result people
expect by deploying a "local" root server.  

But, none the less, we who worry about International topology and engineering
are trying to figure out exactly what the load is, and the possibility
of putting one in a place in Europe that would be most advantageous.  One 
problem is that much of Europe still talks to itself via the US.  Thus adding
a European root doesn't help much.  In the Pacific, networking is in a much
"cleaner" configuration.  Almost all the Pacific connectivity comes through
PACCOM, and all their links eventually wind up going through NASA Ames, where
the Western FIX is located.  I run a root nameserver which is directly attached
to the FIX, thus they have very good access to the root, even though it's
not local.   But the links to Europe come into the U.S. all over the place,
and thus European access is problematic.  

I know many people would rather believe that problems are political in nature
and not technical (and some certainly are, much to all our grief!), most
people in the Internet community really try and do the right thing, and 
re-engineering the root nameserver system is one of many things we are
trying to do to improve life in the worldwide Internet.

						Thanks,
						    Milo

PS Usual disclaimers apply!