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Amazon Web Services Launches DNS Service

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the welcome-to-the-holiday-dolldrums dept.

wiredmikey writes "Amazon Web Services (AWS) today announced a highly available and scalable Domain Name System service designed to give developers and businesses a reliable and cost effective way to route end users to Internet applications. The service, 'Route 53,' effectively connects user requests to infrastructure running in AWS — such as an Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud instance, an Amazon Elastic Load Balancer, or an Amazon Simple Storage Service bucket — and can also be used to route users to infrastructure outside of AWS."

40 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. We see what you did there Amazon. by anom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That is all.

    1. Re:We see what you did there Amazon. by poetmatt · · Score: 5, Insightful

      the question is, will it route to wikileaks when under government pressure? Oh right, it'll monetize every website you go to and block anyone the politicians don't like.

      I'll pass on this, whenever.

    2. Re:We see what you did there Amazon. by should_be_linear · · Score: 4, Funny

      New patented feature for governments: "One click assassination of DNS registrar".

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      839*929
    3. Re:We see what you did there Amazon. by nicholas22 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Exactly, they showed their true colors in the way that they handled the WikiLeaks affair / pressure from the government. Thanks, but NO THANKS Amazon!

    4. Re:We see what you did there Amazon. by aarrieta · · Score: 3, Informative

      ..also 53 is DNS port number :-)

    5. Re:We see what you did there Amazon. by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It hasn't been "deemed illegal by the US government". That requires a court decision, and the government attorneys haven't even filed charges yet. People are innocent until proven guilty, facts are not established until proven in court. There most certainly are plenty of disputes about whether the publications were legal, on several different bases. But even if it were an "open and shut case", that still requires that the case be opened and then shut, which it hasn't.

      Without that due process, Amazon can decide for any reason, like some Senator whining about some bad press, that content or services must be shut down. Due process is important, as is protection from arbitrary denials of services that are paid for and expected to critically support a business operation.

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      make install -not war

    6. Re:We see what you did there Amazon. by camionbleu · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Legally, Wikileaks' action is likely protected under the First Amendment. In 1971, the Supreme Court ruled (New York Times v. U.S) that the First Amendment barred the Nixon administration from keeping the New York Times and Washington Post from publishing illegally leaked information related to the Vietnam War. Two other cases (Landmark Communications v. Virginia and Bartnicki v. Vopper) support the view that it is not illegal to publish leaked information, even if the original leaking of that information was illegal.

      Of course Amazon is free to as it sees fit, just as we are free to choose whether to buy from Amazon. But let's not add support to Amazon's decision by pretending that this was about "stolen property".

    7. Re:We see what you did there Amazon. by bberens · · Score: 2

      Because high bandwidth customers are likely quite profitable?

      --
      Check out my lame java blog at www.javachopshop.com
    8. Re:We see what you did there Amazon. by TooMuchToDo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But it sure is a golden marketing moment. I'm an AWS customer (we do huge enterprise hosting environments that integrate with AWS) and I'd had been impressed with them had they said "10GBps of DDOS traffic? Pfffft. Our anycasted infrastructure easily shrugs that off." Now, they look bad in both technical and political circles (at least to those who believe in freedom of speech for those not accused or convicted of a crime).

  2. Spamvertisement by regular_gonzalez · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Cool, thanks for the PR release wiredmikey

    --
    Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am master of my fate and captain of my soul.
    1. Re:Spamvertisement by Hijacked+Public · · Score: 2

      The light bill doesn't pay itself.

      Taco at least meters them in as opposed to flooding the front page. Unless a new iPod comes out or the like, then all bets are off.

      --
      "Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
    2. Re:Spamvertisement by wiredmikey · · Score: 3, Informative

      Actually, the full press release with all the clutter and no information on the API, etc. is here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1504334&highlight=

    3. Re:Spamvertisement by theskipper · · Score: 2

      Thanks for the update. We'll be waiting anxiously for further updates.

  3. Sounds great for WikiLeaks by burki · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Since EasyDNS couldn't handle them anymore. Oh wait, wasn't there a problem with Amazon to start with?

    1. Re:Sounds great for WikiLeaks by elsurexiste · · Score: 2

      Since EasyDNS couldn't handle them anymore. Oh wait, wasn't there a problem with Amazon to start with?

      Yeah, I thought that too. They announced this just after kicking Wikileaks out. It does give you an idea of how reliable that DNS service is.

      Screw them.

      --
      I rarely respond to comments. Also, don't ask for clarifications: a brain and Google are faster, believe me!
    2. Re:Sounds great for WikiLeaks by maztuhblastah · · Score: 2

      Since EasyDNS couldn't handle them anymore. Oh wait, wasn't there a problem with Amazon to start with?

      You got the company wrong! EasyDNS actually has volunteered to take on WikiLeaks as a customer. It was *EveryDNS* that bowed to the US government and dropped WikiLeaks.

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      The real litigious bastards...
  4. Imma jump right on this... by xTantrum · · Score: 5, Insightful

    so when they decide they don't like my business model/price structure/web site/looks/colour/wtv they can shut my service down pronto. Yup, thanks Amazon where can I sign up?? Idiots.

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    $action = empty(PHP) ? backToC() : unset(PHP) ; "when the concrete cases are understood, the abstractions are readily
  5. really? by hey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "A reliable, cloud-based DNS service has been one of the most requested offerings by our customers" ... really?

    1. Re:really? by xSauronx · · Score: 2

      Well, comcast is going to be *all* over this one...

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      By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth. -- George Carlin
    2. Re:really? by Hartree · · Score: 2

      Comcast needs to be all over something. Last night was just one of a series of troubles with dns they've had.

    3. Re:really? by asvravi · · Score: 2

      Spinelessly caving in to secret threats from a fascist individual amounts to playing with your constitutional rights and deserves to be derided. People would not have been hard at all on Amazon if they were responding to a formal legal notice from government, based on a properly adjudicated case.

      Whether there is or not a US company that can take on the US government is irrelevant to the result. Any company that does what Amazon did must be and will be hauled up by the people.

      Arguments such as yours only serve to undermine the very fabric of democracy and fly against the critical concept of independence of legislature, judiciary and executive that is so fundamental to effective democracy.

  6. Hmmm.... by Chrisq · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The biggest reason I can think of for using an alternative DNS is independence from governments. Since Amazon clearly bows to US government pressure and removed wikileaks I see it as a failure on this front.

    1. Re:Hmmm.... by hedwards · · Score: 2

      To be fair, I'm not sure that they bowed to the US government or all those morons that view Wikileaks as a threat to US national security on par with Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Ladin.

      It's hard to say, but the latter probably can exert enough pressure that the US government wouldn't have to. Not that I have any idea which it is.

    2. Re:Hmmm.... by AndrewNeo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I know it's not normal to read the article on Slashdot, but seriously? Amazon is offering DNS hosting. Think BIND, not OpenDNS or whatever.

    3. Re:Hmmm.... by aztracker1 · · Score: 2

      Fair enough.. but as far as Amazon's infrastructure, it's on par with any other customer... The power company doesn't care that you use electricity to allow your DVD player and TV to show you porn.

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      Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
  7. Very funny, Amazon! ROFLMAO by surveyork · · Score: 2

    Hahahaha! Really, Amazon... *breathless* This is a really good practical joke, seriously. You boot sites from your cloud when someone tells you to and now you want people to trust your DNS! Oh, and yesterday I cancelled my PayPal & Amazon accounts. Keep up the good job! Now we see the true colors of these companies (until now, they were just an educated guess). We see what you did there, Amazon. We all know it. Shame on you.

    --
    2019 is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop.
    1. Re:Very funny, Amazon! ROFLMAO by surveyork · · Score: 2

      Say whatever you want. I know I'm insignificant to them, but I felt the need to do something for a change. I'm not the only one. There's also the bad PR. And no, I never completely believed Google's motto. Just look at what they're planning for wireless internet: the end of net neutrality. All companies are evil, some are less evil than others. Have a nice time being cynical and doing nothing. That's why we can't have nice things.

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      2019 is going to be the year of Linux on the desktop.
  8. Unfortunately, their service has some bugs... by noidentity · · Score: 2

    ...bugs like not working when the domain name contains the strings "wiki" and "leaks", and possible others not yet determined.

  9. Maybe that's by toxygen01 · · Score: 2

    what wikileaks should use instead of everydns =]

  10. DO NOT WANT by thijsh · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Sorry Amazon, DNS needs reliability and has to be *more* free from political involvement, not less freedom and more censorship like you will undoubtedly offer.

    Tagged: DONOTWANT

  11. An actually useful link? by isaacbowen · · Score: 3, Informative

    Seriously, use the summary to link to the friggen source. http://aws.amazon.com/route53/

  12. Amen! by A+nonymous+Coward · · Score: 2

    When they fought the one click patent war and bragged otherwise, started publishing stats on what their .com customers were buying, and laughed at my privacy complaint (I have my own .com domain), I dropped them and found that almost everything they have, I can get cheaper elsewhere.

    They keep on pulling shenanigans like caving to the government over wikileaks, one excuse after another for being craven cowards and bullies, and I continue to wonder why people trust them.

    --
    Infuriate left and right
  13. Could be worse: by Hartree · · Score: 2

    Well, it probly was better than Comcast last night in the MidWest.

    They promoted equality by failing to return ALL dns queries for several hours.

  14. Re:Yes i think i would use that ... by drsmack1 · · Score: 2

    Either way works. They usually are pulling a train that loops around and connects to itself.

    The circle of life is thus complete.

    --

    Humor from a Genetically Molested Mind

  15. I'm sure it will be useful... by wcrowe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...until they censor your website. Wikileaks is not the only one with a problem.

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    Proverbs 21:19
  16. Reliable? Ask Wikileaks! by rolfc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I wont touch them anymore.

    1. Re:Reliable? Ask Wikileaks! by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Not sure why you'd single out Amazon for this. Wikileaks violated their ToS. Any provider will kick you off if you violate their ToS, Amazon just gets the flack because they actually had a high-profile customer that they dropped. It should be taken as a danger of relying on 'the cloud' (i.e. letting someone else control your important infrastructure), rather than specific evidence that Amazon is evil.

      Remember boys and girls, putting stuff in the cloud means giving someone else control over the off switch.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  17. route 53 lacks some important features by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    - route 53 is not reachable over IPv6 - No DNSSEC - No GeoIP coolness

  18. Re:http://aws.amazon.com/message/65348/ by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 2

    1: What I posted replies to the comment asserting that "the US government deemed Wikileaks' content illegal". Amazon's given reasons are totally irrelevant to the fact that the government has not "deemed" that, as I detailed.

    2: Amazon's claims are also not believable. Specifically Amazon says Wikileaks has released 250,000 classified documents, though Wikileaks has released only about 270. There is little evidence that human rights orgs are the ones whose complaints Amazon is acting on. Those excuses are a smokescreen for a giant telecom/retailer cooperating with some people in the US government despite no due process proving support for these various claims. Meanwhile Amazon's servers sell books that are "damaging" to people every day, which is what Americans believe is protected by free speech so long as it's true.

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    make install -not war

  19. They should've called it Route 66... by jon.mixnblend · · Score: 2

    If you ever plan to motor west, Travel my way, take the highway that is best. Get your kicks on route sixty-six. It winds from Chicago to LA, More than two thousand miles all the way. Get your kicks on route sixty-six. Now you go through Saint Louis Joplin, Missouri, And Oklahoma City is mighty pretty. You see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico, Flagstaff, Arizona. Don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino. Won't you get hip to this timely tip: When you make that California trip Get your kicks on route sixty-six. Solo Won't you get hip to this timely tip: When you make that California trip Get your kicks on route sixty-six. Get your kicks on route sixty-six. Get your kicks on route sixty-six.