Behavior of DNS\u27 top talkers, a .com/.net view

This paper provides the first systematic study of DNS data taken from one of the 13 servers for the .com/.net registry. DNS\u27 generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) such .com and .net serve resolvers from throughout the Internet and respond to billions of DNS queries every day. This study uses gTLD data to characterize the DNS resolver population and profile DNS query types. The results show a small and relatively stable set of resolvers (i.e. the top-talkers) constitute 90% of the overall traffic. The results provide a basis for understanding for this critical Internet service, insights on typical resolver behaviors and the use of IPv6 in DNS, and provides a foundation for further study of DNS behavior. © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg