How MySpace is hurting your network

Social networking sites drive up DNS traffic, bandwidth

By Carolyn Duffy Marsan, Network World
June 22, 2007 03:09 PM ET

Increasingly popular social-networking sites such as MySpace, YouTube and Facebook are accounting for such huge volumes of DNS queries and bandwidth consumption that carriers, universities and corporations are scrambling to keep pace.

The trend is prompting some network operators to upgrade their DNS systems, while others are blocking the sites altogether. Moreover, the "MySpace Effect" is expected to hit many more nets soon, as these network-intensive interactive features migrate from specialty sites to mainstream e-commerce operations and intranets.

"Social media is not just going to be in pure-play sites like MySpace and Facebook. It's going to become increasingly prevalent across retailers, media and entertainment," says Mike Afergan, CTO of Akamai, a content delivery network company that supports MySpace, Facebook and Friendster. "It drives a lot more requests and a lot more bit-traffic across these networks."

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The demanding nature of social-networking sites was highlighted in May when the Department of Defense announced it was blocking worldwide access to 13 Web sites, including MySpace and YouTube.

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Tips for minimizing 'MySpace effect'
Experts advise how to best manage these demanding social- networking sites and the DNS traffic they produce:

1. Understand your DNS traffic trends. Network operators are reporting that DNS traffic, which used to double every year, is now doubling every six months. Make sure you pay attention to scaling your DNS.

2. Consider upgrading your DNS infrastructure. DNS is key for new applications such as social networking, but itÕs also a primary target for hackers.

3. Evaluate the latest DNS software and appliances. An array of DNS hardware and software products are on the market that offer higher performance, improved reliability and better security beyond what's available in the open source BIND Version 9.

4. Continue to monitor DNS. Even after you upgrade your DNS infrastructure, you need to keep an eye on your systems to make sure there is enough headroom to absorb traffic peaks.

5. Consider using a content delivery network. By placing their edge servers inside your network, a content delivery service such as Akamai can minimize the impact of social-networking Web sites on your infrastructure.

Click to see: Tips for minimizing the MySpace effect

"The Commander of DoD's Joint Task Force, Global Network Operations has noted a significant increase in use of DoD network resources tied up by individuals visiting certain recreational Internet sites," Army General B.B. Bell said in a memo. "This recreational traffic impacts our official DoD network and bandwidth availability, while posing a significant operational security challenge."

The Defense Department began blocking access to these sites on May 14 on its unclassified IP network, which is called NIPRNET for Non-secure Internet Protocol Routed Network.

The military isn't the only organization to notice how taxing these sites are on network resources.

"One of the things we're hearing more and more from carriers is that social-networking sites like MySpace and YouTube are contributing to an exponential increase in DNS traffic," says Tom Tovar, president and COO of Nominum, which sells high-end DNS software to carriers and enterprises.