Root Zone

DNS Root Server Infrastructure Monitoring

TLD SLA Compliance Metrics

Spec 10

DNS

Period Availability RTT Compliance RTT p50 RTT p95 Checks TSLAC
24h 100% 100% 18ms 83ms 572
7d 100% 100% 17ms 625ms 3120
30d 100% 100% 17ms 625ms 17329

DNSSEC Validation Metrics

Registry Agreement Spec 6

DNSSEC is required by the Registry Agreement (Specification 6) but is not part of the Spec 10 SLA. We monitor DNSSEC validation independently.

Period Validation Rate RTT p50 RTT p95 Checks Status
24h 100% 20ms 21ms 42
7d 76.05% 18ms 18ms 238
30d 64.50% 18ms 18ms 1310

Unlike Spec 10 services, DNSSEC has no formal availability SLA. Thresholds shown are operational guidelines.

Current Check Status

Reported by Any53 Probes
Type AF RTT Last Check Source Details Status TSLAC
DNS v4 47ms 2 minutes ago local NSID: M-SFO-1 OK
DNS v6 45ms 54 days, 16 hours ago local NSID: M-SFO-4 OK
DNSSEC v4 18ms 1 hour, 1 minute ago local Key: 20326 OK
DNSSEC v6 19ms 1 hour, 1 minute ago local Key: 20326 OK

Root Server Details

13 Root Servers

The 13 root servers operated by 12 organizations form the foundation of the DNS hierarchy. We test each server independently over both IPv4 and IPv6.

Server Operator IPv4 RTT IPv6 RTT IPv4 NSID IPv6 NSID Anchor Status
a.root-servers.net Verisign 18ms a.r.usnyc-2c
b.root-servers.net USC-ISI 22ms b3-iad
c.root-servers.net Cogent 2.2ms ord1a.c.root-server…
d.root-servers.net UMD 1.2ms chil6.droot.maxgiga…
e.root-servers.net NASA 1.2ms p02.ord.eroot
f.root-servers.net ISC 1.3ms ord2f.f.root-server…
g.root-servers.net DISA 10ms groot-con1-3
h.root-servers.net US Army 24ms 001.den.h.root-serv…
i.root-servers.net Netnod 42ms s1.yvr
j.root-servers.net Verisign 0.47ms n.r.elord1.uschi-0
k.root-servers.net RIPE NCC 83ms ns3.gb-lon.k.ripe.n…
l.root-servers.net ICANN 18ms us-rtv-aa
m.root-servers.net WIDE 47ms M-SFO-1

NSID (Name Server Identifier) helps identify which anycast instance responded. Anchor validation confirms the DNSSEC root trust anchor matches across address families.

Probe-to-Server RTT Matrix

2 probes × 13 servers

Most recent RTT measurements from each Any53 probe to all 13 root servers. This level of per-probe detail is available for all monitored TLDs on paid plans.

Data collected from 20:21 to 21:11 UTC Wednesday Apr 15, 2026

Probe Time A B C D E F G H I J K L M
localhost1 20:21:53 19 22 2.2 1.3 1.2 1.9 11 24 43 0.56 83 18 46
localhost2 21:11:29 18 22 2.2 1.2 1.2 1.3 10 24 42 0.47 83 18 47

Top number is IPv4, bottom is IPv6. RTT in milliseconds. ≤100ms ≤300ms >300ms

Test With Your Computer

DNS

dig @a.root-servers.net root. SOA +dnssec +nsid Query SOA with DNSSEC validation and NSID
drill -D root. SOA @a.root-servers.net Alternative using drill with DNSSEC trace

Registry Information

Active
TLD Root Zone
Operator Root Server System

ICANN SLA Requirements

Per ICANN Registry Agreement Specification 10:

DNS SLA UDP RTT ≤ 500ms for 95% of queries. Availability: 99% (max 432 min/month downtime).

API Access

JSON API

Access Root Zone compliance metrics programmatically via our REST API.

Quick Start

GET /any53/api/v1/compliance/root/
curl -H "X-API-Key: ${YOUR_API_KEY}" \
  "https://www.any53.com/any53/api/v1/compliance/root/"

Example Response

{
  "tld": "root",
  "display_name": "Root Zone",
  "operator": "Root Server System",
  "updated_at": "2026-01-31T12:00:00Z",
  "dns": {
    "availability_24h": 99.99,
    "rtt_p50_ms": 12,
    "rtt_p95_ms": 42,
    "sla_threshold_ms": 500
  },
  "spec10_compliant": true
}

Generate API Key

Get a free API key to start making requests. Provide an email to upgrade to the verified tier (600 requests/hour).

Endpoints

Endpoint Description Tier
GET /compliance/ List all monitored TLDs All
GET /compliance/{tld}/ Current metrics for a TLD All
GET /compliance/{tld}/history/ Historical time-series data Organization
GET /compliance/{tld}/probes/ Per-probe breakdown Organization
POST /compliance/keys/ Generate a new API key No auth

Rate Limits

Tier Rate Limit Features
Anonymous 100/hour Current snapshot, hourly aggregates
Verified 600/hour Current snapshot, hourly aggregates
Organization 6000/hour Historical data, per-minute resolution, per-probe breakdown