DNS-OARC
DNS-OARC is a nonprofit that operates a trusted platform uniting DNS operators, implementors, and researchers to coordinate responses to attacks, share operational data, and advance DNS research through workshops, open source tools, and DITL datasets.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersRedwood City, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
DNS-OARC firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DNS-OARC
- Legal name
- OARC, Inc.
- Website
- https://dns-oarc.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- DNS-OARC is a nonprofit that operates a trusted platform uniting DNS operators, implementors, and researchers to coordinate responses to attacks, share operational data, and advance DNS research through workshops, open source tools, and DITL datasets.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DNS-OARC industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Internet Infrastructure Services
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- DNS Security & Protective DNS (HDADABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Resilient DNS, Traffic Management & Global Load Balancing (HDABAIAI)
Keywords
Where DNS-OARC is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Redwood City
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
DNS-OARC business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Membership Dues: Primary funding source from organizational membership tiers (Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Blue) supporting OARC's mission and operations
- Grants and Donations: Funding from organizations including Verisign, Comcast Innovation Fund, Mozilla MOSS, ARIN Community Grants Fund, NIC.AT GmbH, EURid, Swedish Internet Foundation, and Community Grants Fund for specific projects
- Workshop Registration Fees: Revenue from semi-annual workshops including early bird and regular registration fees
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | One time | Workshop Registration - Early Bird |
| Subscription | Annual | Membership Tiers |
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
DNS-OARC product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DNS-OARC operates a trusted coordination platform for the global DNS community, bringing together operators, implementors, and researchers to share data and respond to attacks. It produces and maintains an open source suite of DNS analysis and performance testing tools (dnsperf, dnscap, DSC, DNSViz, dnsjit, DROOL, PacketQ, dnsmeter) and runs large-scale data collection initiatives including Day In The Life of the Internet (DITL), Check My DNS, TLDmon, AS112, and a member data analysis infrastructure.
Product overview
DNS-OARC (DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center) is a nonprofit organization that provides a portfolio of DNS-related tools, data services, and community platforms. The core offerings include semi-annual workshops for knowledge sharing, the Check My DNS service for resolver validation, and the DITL (Day In The Life of the Internet) data collection initiative. The tool suite includes dnsperf, dnsmeter, DROOL, dnsjit, DNSCAP, DSC, and PacketQ for DNS performance testing, traffic analysis, and packet capture. Data services encompass the Zone File Repository, Root Zone Archive, and various monitoring services including TLDmon and AS112. These products are distributed as open-source tools primarily through command-line interfaces and GitHub repositories.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- DNS-OARC Workshops Semi-annual in-person and hybrid workshops bringing together DNS operators, researchers, and implementors for technical presentations, lightning talks, and community coordination on DNS operations and security topics.
- Check My DNS Public web service for checking DNS resolver configuration and behavior, including RPKI origin validation status. Used by DNS operators and network administrators to validate resolver setups.
- DITL (Day In The Life of the Internet) Annual large-scale DNS data collection initiative conducted jointly with CAIDA, gathering detailed query datasets from all 13 root server letters and 20+ TLD operators. Provides over 40TB of historical DNS query data for member research.
- DSC (DNS Stats Collector) Open source tool for collecting, analyzing, and publishing DNS traffic statistics from authoritative and recursive nameservers. Used by DNS operators to measure and publish performance and load data.
- dnsperf Open source DNS performance testing tool that measures DNS server performance by sending queries at high rates. Acquired from Nominum/Akamai and maintained by DNS-OARC for the community.
- DNSCAP Open source DNS traffic capture utility for collecting DNS packet traces used in DITL data collections and ongoing measurement activities.
- dnsjit Open source engine for capturing, parsing, and replaying DNS traffic with Lua scripting support for advanced analysis and automation.
- DROOL (DNS Replay Tool) Open source DNS replay tool for replaying captured DNS traffic against test servers and analyzing responses for testing and research purposes.
- PacketQ Open source command-line tool for running SQL queries on PCAP files containing DNS traffic, enabling offline analysis of packet captures.
- DNSViz Open source web-based tool for visualizing DNS zone status and diagnosing DNSSEC configuration problems across the chain of trust.
- dnsmeter Open source tool for measuring DNS traffic and server performance under various load conditions.
- TLDmon Monitoring service for Top-Level Domain nameservers checking delegation, DNSSEC signatures, and other critical parameters for TLD health.
- AS112 Project providing special DNS service for reverse lookup zones (such as 10.in-addr.arpa) that should return NXDOMAIN, reducing unnecessary traffic to root servers.
- Dont Probe Service to help network operators identify and mitigate open recursive resolvers that could be exploited in DNS-based DDoS amplification attacks.
- Zone File Repository Repository for DNS zone files contributed by members, used for analysis and research by member organizations.
- OARC DNS Testbed Physical rack of servers and switches used for DNS simulations and performance testing, including 16 HP ProLiant DL140 servers with specialized network configuration.
Quantifiable outcome
- Day In the Life (DITL) data collection captures DNS traffic from all 13 root server letters and 20+ TLD operators annually
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use DNS-OARC
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
DNS-OARC technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
DNS-OARC partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Tucows DomainsminorJoined as Bronze Tier member in June 2026. Tucows brings deep experience across domain services and registry operations, providing a practical global perspective to DNS-OARC's mission of strengthening DNS stability, security, and resilience.
- Palo Alto NetworkscoreJoined DNS-OARC as Platinum Member in April 2026. Palo Alto Networks brings cybersecurity expertise and DNS security perspective to the organization, supporting open dialogue and shared learning that drive workshops, research, and community initiatives at the intersection of DNS and security.
- NLnet LabscoreMember represented on Privacy Committee. Contributes to DNS research and open source software development. Collaborates on DNS measurement projects using platforms like OpenINTEL.
- APNICcoreGold member with strong involvement. George Michaelson serves on Privacy Committee and has served on Board of Directors. APNIC contributes DNS measurement data and research expertise.
- CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority)coreSilver member. Jacques Latour (CTO) served on Board of Directors. CIRA donates colocation space and transit for DNS-OARC's backup infrastructure.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
DNS-OARC competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- ISC (Internet Systems Consortium): Maintains BIND 9 and Kea — the dominant authoritative and recursive DNS implementations. ISC is an OARC Gold member but operates at far greater scale, producing production DNS software rather than measurement tools.
- Internet Society (ISOC): Global non-profit advocating for open internet standards and infrastructure. Operates MANRS for routing security and funds DNS/Internet measurement initiatives with overlapping community.
- Verisign: Operates A-root and J-root and is OARC's sole Diamond member. Comparable as a critical DNS infrastructure operator with internal measurement and security research teams.
- ICANN: Coordinates the DNS root zone, allocates TLDs, and operates L-root. Functions as a major OARC Platinum member and contracted research partner (e.g., 2013 root zone study).
Direct peers
- NLnet Labs: Dutch non-profit developing open-source DNS software (Unbound, NSD, dnsdist) and OpenINTEL DNS measurement platform. Shares DNS research mission, open-source tooling ethos, and privacy-committee collaboration with OARC.
- CAIDA (Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis): UC San Diego-based research group that co-runs DITL with DNS-OARC. Operates overlapping internet measurement infrastructure and serves a comparable operator/research audience.
- RIPE NCC: European regional internet registry operating K-root and the RIPE Atlas measurement network. Shares DNS measurement and root-server research mission; collaborates with OARC on data and governance.
- Packet Clearing House: Non-profit operating a significant share of the world's Internet Exchange Points and anycast root server infrastructure. Highly comparable mission in DNS infrastructure stewardship and operator coordination.
- APNIC: Asia-Pacific regional internet registry contributing DNS measurement data and serving on OARC's Privacy Committee and Board. Directly comparable in registry-driven DNS research and policy mission.
Emerging players
- OpenINTEL: NLnet Labs-operated large-scale active DNS measurement platform. Comparable in daily DNS measurement methodology and dataset-style outputs, with partial overlap with DITL.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
DNS-OARC social profiles
Digital presenceDNS-OARC financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DNS-OARC leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
DNS-OARC funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DNS-OARC M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DNS-OARC
What does DNS-OARC do?
DNS-OARC operates a trusted coordination platform for the global DNS community, bringing together operators, implementors, and researchers to share data and respond to attacks. It produces and maintains an open source suite of DNS analysis and performance testing tools (dnsperf, dnscap, DSC, DNSViz, dnsjit, DROOL, PacketQ, dnsmeter) and runs large-scale data collection initiatives including Day In The Life of the Internet (DITL), Check My DNS, TLDmon, AS112, and a member data analysis infrastructure.
Is DNS-OARC a public or private company?
DNS-OARC is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was DNS-OARC founded?
DNS-OARC was founded in 2004. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is DNS-OARC based?
DNS-OARC is headquartered in Redwood City, United States, in the North America region.
How does DNS-OARC make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are grants and Donations and workshop Registration Fees.
Who are DNS-OARC's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are ISC (Internet Systems Consortium), Internet Society (ISOC), Verisign and ICANN. Direct peers are NLnet Labs, CAIDA (Center for Applied Internet Data Analysis), RIPE NCC, Packet Clearing House and APNIC. OpenINTEL is listed as an emerging player.
Does DNS-OARC have an API?
No public API is recorded for DNS-OARC.
What industry is DNS-OARC in?
DNS-OARC's product category is Internet Infrastructure Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDADABAF, DNS Security & Protective DNS, with a secondary code of HDABAIAI, Resilient DNS, Traffic Management & Global Load Balancing. Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7370.