Introduction

This product is in the BETA phase.

Most functions are available, but the full scope of functionality may not yet be implemented. Testing of the product is not finished. Handling may still be inconvenient in places and may not yet fully meet our standards. In the course of development, there may still be changes to operating procedures and processes.

Thank you for your understanding.

The STACKIT DNS Resolver is a foundational networking service that provides secure, sovereign, and high-performance DNS (Domain Name System) resolution. Operating entirely within the STACKIT Cloud ecosystem, it acts as a reliable intermediary to translate human-readable domain names (like www.stackit.com) into the IP addresses that computers use to connect to them.

This service is engineered to ensure your DNS queries are handled with the highest standards of data residency and security. By leveraging the robust STACKIT infrastructure, it delivers consistent, low-latency performance essential for modern cloud applications.

Key Features & Benefits

The STACKIT DNS Resolver is built on three core principles: sovereignty, security, and reliability.

Data Sovereignty

In today’s data-conscious world, knowing where your data is processed is paramount. When you use public DNS resolvers, your DNS queries (which can reveal much about your business activities) are sent to servers outside of your control, often in different legal jurisdictions.

The STACKIT DNS Resolver guarantees data sovereignty by processing every query within the geographical and legal boundaries of the STACKIT Cloud. This is a critical requirement for complying with data protection regulations and for industries such as finance, healthcare, and the public sector, where data residency is non-negotiable.

Enhanced Security

DNS is a frequent target for cyber attacks. Our resolver mitigates these risks through several mechanisms:

• Prevents DNS Hijacking and Snooping: By keeping DNS traffic within the STACKIT Cloud, you reduce the risk of attackers intercepting or redirecting your queries.
• Support for DNS over HTTPS (DoH): Standard DNS queries are sent in plain text via UDP or TCP, making them vulnerable. DoH wraps your DNS queries in an encrypted HTTPS tunnel, the same technology that secures your web browsing. This makes your queries indistinguishable from other web traffic, preventing eavesdropping and manipulation from machine-in-the-middle attacks.
• DNSSEC Validation: The resolver automatically performs DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) validation. This means it checks the digital signature of the DNS records it receives, ensuring they are authentic and have not been forged or altered in transit.

Reliable Performance

Application performance is directly impacted by the speed of DNS resolution. Our resolver is designed for the high demands of cloud environments:

• Low Latency: Because the resolver is located within the same cloud as your virtual machines and services, the physical distance a query must travel is minimized, resulting in faster response times compared to external resolvers.
• High Availability: The service is deployed in a redundant, highly available configuration across multiple physical locations. If one instance becomes unavailable, your traffic is automatically routed to another, ensuring uninterrupted service.
• Caching: The resolver maintains a cache of recent and frequently requested domain names, allowing it to answer subsequent queries almost instantaneously without needing to query the entire internet again.