What are the Benifits of Running Your Own DNS?

baileyjs asks: "I help run a small web development firm, and we are always trying to save money, but not at the cost of service to our customers. We currently purchase DNS services from our ISP, but are looking at getting our own rack. I was going to put some DNS servers there when I saw that Network Solutions offers free DNS. All our of domains (about 150) are currently on Network Solutions, so transfer is not an issue. Why shouldn't I use Network Solutions? Why should I build my own? What reasons, besides 'Network Solutions is Evil', can I give my boss?"

Comments

Netsol costs more.

[Inoshiro]

For a pithy 150 domains, setup TinyDNS. It takes about 20 minutes to download/compile/install. There are plenty of helpful guides to setting up the software.

If you are unsure about the format, use a zone-xfer to get them to TinyDNS format. Then your DNS is 100% under your control (easy updating!), cost effective (TinyDNS needs to maintenance), and has a light impact on the server (usually 1 second of CPU time for every few days + a few hundred kb of HD space). On top of that, you can transfer your registrations to an alternative registrar (like Joker) which would be cheaper in the long run.