UltraDNS

About UltraDNS

UltraDNS operates as an enterprise-grade, cloud-based authoritative Domain Name System (DNS) service, established to deliver secure, rapid, and accurate query responses for websites and other online assets. The company was founded in 1999 by Rodney Joffe, a cybersecurity veteran who previously founded Genuity, one of the world's largest Internet service providers. Joffe's background in protecting networks and developing security technologies, including the invention of Anycast for DNS, was foundational to UltraDNS. His career includes extensive work with U.S. federal authorities on cybercrime and receiving multiple awards for his contributions to cybersecurity.

The firm primarily serves enterprises and organizations that depend on DNS for their critical business operations, applications, and services. Its client roster has included prominent online names like Amazon.com, LinkedIn.com, Oracle.com, and Zappos.com. The business model is centered on providing managed DNS solutions, which means it handles the complexities of DNS management for its clients, ensuring high availability and performance. Revenue is generated through customizable, subscription-based packages tailored to an organization's specific DNS requirements, with pricing dependent on the scale and scope of services needed.

The core service is a managed authoritative DNS platform built on a globally distributed anycast network with 30 nodes across six continents. This infrastructure is designed to minimize latency by routing user queries to the nearest server, ensuring fast response times. Key features include robust protection against Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) for data integrity, traffic management for optimizing performance, and automated failover capabilities to ensure service continuity. In April 2006, UltraDNS was acquired by Neustar, Inc., a provider of real-time information services, for $61.8 million in cash and became a wholly owned subsidiary. Today, the service is part of the Vercara product suite.