The globally distributed DNS infrastructure for .de domains is further expanding: With the deployment of the new name server cluster in Moscow, the total number of name server locations (NSL) scattered across 15 cities throughout the world now is 17. The new NSL is DENIC's answer to the rapidly growing demand for name server resources as a result of the continually increasing use of the Internet. The number of queries that must be handled by the DENIC name servers has nearly tripled in the last five years and servers now answer up to 7 billion queries a day.

DENIC meticulously monitors how many queries are sent to the name servers and from which places in the world they originate, so that it can perfectly tailor its name server network to current requirements and expand it where necessary. The new location in Moscow (“ru1“) with a direct connection to the largest Russian Internet exchange MSK-IX (Moscow Internet Exchange) considerably shortens response times for users in Russia, the Baltic States and in western Asia.

Like the name servers at the locations Frankfurt am Main, Amsterdam (each possessing 2 NSLs), Berlin, Beijing, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Miami, São Paulo, Stockholm and Vienna, Moscow is now operated in the so-called anycast mode. In the IPv4 network, "ru1" is assigned to the anycast cloud "z.nic.de", and in the IPv6 network to the cloud "a.nic.de". All computers combined in an anycast cloud can be reached via one and the same IP address, even though they are physically located at different geographical places.

All name server locations of the .de domain have a scalable architecture and are equipped with state-of-the-art hardware.

Name servers are used to link a domain (such as denic.de) to the numeric IP address of a computer. Thus, they are indispensable for calling up websites or sending e-mails. The related data in the .de zone is updated several times a day, normally every two hours.