DNS Load Balancing

What Does DNS Load Balancing Mean?

DNS load balancing is a network optimization technique in which a domain’s incoming Web traffic is logically proportioned for improved performance and domain availability. It facilitates faster access to a website or domain by providing several IP addresses for a single host or domain name, which routes traffic between two or more servers.

Techopedia Explains DNS Load Balancing

DNS load balancing helps optimize client requests for a specific domain. It incorporates several techniques that are used to distribute, redirect or manage the overall load balancing process, including:

Backup server: A clone instance of a domain’s Web server is created to serve as a secondary DNS. The primary DNS may redirect traffic to this server at runtime.
Round robin DNS-based load sharing: DNS requests are rotated and shared across multiple Web server instances. Although mainly a load sharing algorithm, this also facilitates load balancing.
Dynamic DNS load balancing: DNS requests are routed between Web servers with the best available resources and minimal load.

Related Reading

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Margaret Rouse

Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

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