The simple act of surfing the Internet requires the most fundamental of protocols in order to work. HTTP, which stands for Hypertext Transmission Protocol, and DNS, which represents Domain Name System, are backbone standards that make everything possible. HTTP allows the transfer of data between a web browser and the corresponding web page or application located on a server on the network. Because HTTP uses a universal standard protocol to communicate, everyone can access everything on the web.
DNS enables a user’s device to translate a URL, also known as a web address, into an IP address that can then be utilized by a machine to navigate the network. Without these two very basic protocols, accessing the Internet in all its vastness would literally be impossible.
With the advent of 5G and virtualization, HTTP and DNS are going through an extensive remodeling process to introduce low latency versions, as well as software versions to run in the cloud. This is being done to increase the visibility and proactive assurance of these critically important web service facilitators.
There’s nothing truly profound in what is happening with HTTP and DNS today. These protocols have undergone a near constant evolution as technology has changed. The latest trends in network function virtualization (NFV) and multi-access edge computing (MEC) are spurring on the newest changes to HTTP and DNS protocols.
As a result of NFV and MEC, HTTP is being streamlined and made lighter to accommodate the coming high speed requirements of 5G. This will be particularly instrumental for smartphones that access content on wireless networks. A flawless user experience will be highly dependent on the best transmission performance.
With the impending deployment of billions of IoT devices, improvement to DNS will be needed to ensure connectivity for discovering and addressing these devices. One of the key developments under way is an effort called DNS Service Discovery (DNS-SD), which enables rapid discovery of local devices and services by making all devices multicast with each other in a peer-to-peer fashion. This advancement will allow DNS-SD to evolve more efficiently in the future because it won’t require centralized query servers and a lot of manual configuration.
As the brave new world of 5G approaches, HTTP and DNS are being revamped to meet the needs of our evolving digital universe. These protocols have served us well, and with these considered modifications, will continue to support our connected world.
This blog is based on the article, HTTP and DNS in a 5G world, written by Daniel Crowe, Regional Director France and Southern Europe for NETSCOUT, which was published at Solutions Numeriques.