Methods and systems for implementing very large DNS zones

1. A method of registering DNS hostnames of Internet host devices for a very large domain zone (VLZ) stored on a DNS server on a network, wherein the Internet host devices collectively define a load of the VLZ and further wherein each Internet host device has an original fully qualified domain name (FQDN), comprising:

instructions stored in non-transitory memory that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps including:

defining a pseudo-zone that represents the VLZ, wherein the pseudo-zone is a unique map from each original FQDN into a hierarchy of a plurality of subzones, each containing a pre-determined number of the Internet host devices such that the load of the VLZ is effectively distributed across multiple servers that are separate but operatively connected to the Internet;

intercepting DNS updates to the pseudo-zone;

mapping the entries in the pseudo-zone into a hierarchy of real parent zones and subzones using a mapping formula, wherein the mapping formula includes a hash function used to establish the plurality of subzones in the pseudo-zone; and

translating DNS updates to the pseudo-zone from the original FQDN into at least one new FQDNs and adding the at least one new FQDNs to an authoritative DNS Server.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions include steps further comprising:

responding to a DNS query request for one of the registered domain names in the VLZ from a requestor, including:

intercepting the DNS query request to the pseudo-zone;

converting the DNS query request to at least one modified DNS query requests;

sending the at least one modified DNS query requests to a DNS service that is operable to resolve the new FQDN; and

conveying a DNS response to the requestor.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein mapping using the mapping formula further comprises:

executing the hash function to obtain a uniform distribution of hash codes;

truncating the hash codes to obtain n-bit numbers in the range 0 to (m−1) where m is the number of sub-zones desired; and

prefixing the n-bit numbers with an alphabetic string to form DNS-compliant sub-zones.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein mapping using the mapping formula further comprises:

executing the hash function to obtain a uniform distribution of hash codes;

performing a modulus of the hash codes to create a selector that is less than or equal to the size of the list of parent zones; and

selecting a parent zone from the list of parent zones using the selector.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein mapping using the mapping formula further comprises:

executing the hash function to obtain a uniform distribution of hash codes;

truncating the hash codes to obtain n-bit numbers in the range 0 to (m−1) where m is the number of sub-zones desired;

prefixing the n-bit numbers with an alphabetic string to form DNS-compliant sub-zones;

performing a modulus of the hash codes to create a selector that is not bigger than the size of the list of parent zones;

selecting a parent zone from the list of parent zones using the selector; and

forming a new FQDN by concatenating an original hostname, new sub-zone and selected parent zone.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions include steps further comprising:

creating, for each DNS hostname registration in the DNS server, a parent zone if it does not already exist and a sub-zone if it does not already exist.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein conveying the DNS response further comprises:

intercepting the DNS response to the requestor,

mapping the new FQDN to the old FQDN,

replacing the new FQDN with the old FQDN in a modified DNS response; and

sending the modified DNS response to the requestor.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the instructions include steps further comprising:

responding to a DNS query request for one of the registered domain names in the VLZ, including:

intercepting the DNS query request;

mapping the DNS query request to the new FQDN

creating a temporary DNS CNAME response including the new FQDN; and

sending the DNS CNAME response to the requestor.