NSDI is a replacement infrastructure for foreign DNS services. Ensures the availability of Russian Internet resources in case of distortion or unavailability of information in the global domain name system. The main function of DNS is to ensure the connection of domain names and IP addresses of sites where certain online resources are physically located.
In accordance with paragraph 3 of section 8 of article 56.2 of the Communications Law, telecommunications operators, owners or other holders of technological communications networks that have an autonomous system number, in accordance with paragraph 3 of section 8 of article 56.2 of the Communications Law, as well as hosting providers are obliged to use the National Domain Name System.
The modifications to the order approving the provisions on the National Domain Name System were a response to incidents in the operation of DNS servers. One of them occurred at the end of January this year: some Internet users were unable to access sites hosted on .ru domains for several hours. The failure occurred on the DNS servers managed by the Internet Technical Center and MSC-IX and was caused by a malfunction of the DNSSEC service. However, some Internet providers did not experience any problems.
Currently, connecting to NSDI is done using one of four options for configuring a DNS server. Two of them are done through authorized servers in the NDIS root zone. Those who connected to the system using these methods experienced problems during the January power outage, Roskomnadzor notes. With these connection options, user requests are processed by the telecom operators’ own servers and, in the event of a failure, they are not always able to quickly identify problems and take measures to restore the availability of Internet resources.
“The changes in the order propose to exclude these methods from the list of options for connecting to NSDI and connect to the system using more reliable and efficient methods; Using NSDI caching servers, organizations that used these methods during the outage did not experience issues accessing resources. “These options for connecting to NSDI reduce the risk of inability to access resources and reduce the load on the infrastructure of telecom operators, which is especially important for large networks with a large number of users,” Roskomnadzor told RG.
This inaccessibility can arise both as a result of failures of the global system (and we have already witnessed such failures in 2023-2024) and in the case of a deliberate disconnection of Russia from global DNS servers, says Artem Sychev, advisor to the CEO of Positive Technologies.
“For ordinary users, the measures provided for in the document are not noticeable and if the global DNS system fails, users should not even notice it,” Sychev told RG.
The expert added that proper implementation should ensure an instant and seamless change to the national domain name resolution system and the availability to users of all necessary resources and services.
