ROUTING CLIENT REQUESTS

1 . A method for responding to a request, comprising:

receiving a request at a server that is at least in part configured with DNS (Domain Name System) functionality;

in the event that the request comprises a content request, responding to the request by either directly servicing the request or redirecting the request to another server capable of handling the request; and

in the event that the request comprises a DNS request, at least partially resolving a domain name of the request and responding to the request with a DNS response.

2 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the server is configured to at least in part function as a name server of the Domain Name System.

3 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the domain name comprises a domain name of a content publisher.

4 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the DNS response comprises one or more of an IP (Internet Protocol) address, a canonical name (CNAME) record, and a name server (NS) record.

5 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the DNS response comprises or maps into an IP (Internet Protocol) address of a content server, a content delivery network (CDN), or the server that received the request.

6 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the request is associated with a content publisher.

7 . The method recited in claim 6 , wherein the server is employed by the content publisher as a web server, a DNS server, or both.

8 . The method recited in claim 7 , wherein a service provided by the server that is employed by the content publisher is selected by the content publisher via a web-based interface.

9 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the request is associated with a content publisher that has contracted the server to manage traffic of the content publisher based on a ruleset.

10 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the request is responded to based on a ruleset of a content publisher associated with the request.

11 . The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the server is configured to function as a DNS server for all but a subset of sampled requests associated with at least a segment of traffic of a content publisher and wherein the server is configured to function as a web server for the subset of sampled requests.

12 . The method recited in claim 11 , wherein a sampling period of the sampled requests is specified by the content publisher.

13 . A system for responding to a request, comprising:

a processor configured to:

receive a request;

in the event that the request comprises a content request, respond to the request by either directly servicing the request or redirecting the request to a server capable of handling the request; and

in the event that the request comprises a DNS request, at least partially resolve a domain name of the request and respond to the request with a DNS response; and

is a memory coupled to the processor and configured to provide the processor with instructions.

14 . The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the DNS response comprises one or more of an IP (Internet Protocol) address, a canonical name (CNAME) record, and a name server (NS) record.

15 . The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the DNS response comprises or maps into an IP (Internet Protocol) address of a content server, a content delivery network (CDN), or the system that received the request.

16 . The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the request is responded to based on a ruleset of a content publisher associated with the request.

17 . A computer program product for responding to a request, the computer program product being embodied in a computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:

receiving a request;

in the event that the request comprises a content request, responding to the request by either directly servicing the request or redirecting the request to a server capable of handling the request; and

in the event that the request comprises a DNS request, at least partially resolving a domain name of the request and responding to the request with a DNS response.

18 . The computer program product recited in claim 17 , wherein the DNS response comprises one or more of an IP (Internet Protocol) address, a canonical name (CNAME) record, and a name server (NS) record.

19 . The computer program product recited in claim 17 , wherein the DNS response comprises or maps into an IP (Internet Protocol) address of a content server, a content delivery network (CDN), or a server that received the request.

20 . The computer program product recited in claim 17 , wherein the request is responded to based on a ruleset of a content publisher associated with the request.