Split Domain Name System

What does Split Domain Name System mean?

The Split Domain Name System (Split-DNS) is a networking technique that allows for the creation of multiple DNS zones for a single domain name. This enables organizations to host different versions of their websites or applications on different servers, while still using the same domain name.

Split-DNS works by dividing a domain name into two or more zones. Each zone is then managed independently, allowing organizations to control which content is served to specific clients based on their IP address or other criteria. For example, an organization could use Split-DNS to host a public website on one server and a private intranet on another, while using the same domain name for both.

Applications

Split-DNS has a wide range of applications in technology today. It is commonly used for:

• Content localization: Split-DNS can be used to serve different versions of a website or application to users in different geographic locations. For example, a company could use Split-DNS to host a Chinese version of its website on a server in China, while Hosting the English version on a server in the United States.
• Load balancing: Split-DNS can be used to distribute traffic across multiple servers. This can improve performance and reliability by ensuring that no single server is overloaded.
• Security: Split-DNS can be used to improve security by isolating different parts of a network. For example, an organization could use Split-DNS to create a separate DNS zone for its internal network, which would not be accessible to external users.

History

The Split Domain Name System was first developed in the early 1990s. It was originally used to provide localized content to users in different countries. However, Split-DNS has since been adopted for a wide range of other applications.

The IETF standardized Split-DNS in RFC 6844 in 2013. RFC 6844 defines a set of best practices for deploying and managing Split-DNS.