UltraDNS
UltraDNS Traffic Controller
UltraDNS Traffic Controller provides dynamic global server load balancing at the DNS level, without the need for additional hardware.
Built on a proven technology platform
UltraDNS Traffic Controller allows for weighted load balancing by dynamically adjusting DNS responses based on real-time server metrics. It leverages UltraDNS’s SiteBacker monitoring to redirect traffic to the most responsive servers and supports custom probes for non-standard applications. This service can function as a standalone load balancer or complement existing solutions, extending global reach without additional hardware investment. Traffic Controller is ideal for managing critical websites worldwide, ensuring optimal server performance and reliability.
- Record-level and pool-based monitoring and load balancing
- Complements existing in-house load balancing solutions
- Secures your zones with DNSSEC
- Fully integrated with Vercara’s UltraDNS Managed DNS service
- Includes UltraDNS monitoring and failover service
- No additional equipment required
- Robust management interface
- Quick and seamless global deployment
- 24/7 x365 UltraDNS expert support
How UltraDNS Traffic Controller works
The Traffic Controller service supports weighted load balancing (WLB) as well as the traditional “round-robin” approach. With WLB, weights are applied to authoritative queries on a percentage basis. Probe monitoring ensures hosts that reach critical thresholds or become unavailable are pulled from the load balancing pool. Traffic Controller provides three primary thresholds, each triggering different sets of actions. Each set of actions includes notifying you that the threshold has been exceeded.
The actions specific to each threshold are:
- Warning: No configuration changes are made.
- Critical: Weight is dynamically reduced by 50% to reduce the traffic to that server.
- Failure: The specific record is no longer served. This change is included in the notification.
For example, if Host1 reaches the critical threshold, the original weight of 4 is reduced to 2. Host1 then only gets one-third of traffic.