Advancing DNS Resilience Through the AFRINIC DNS Programme The AFRINIC DNS Programme is a long-term initiative designed to enhance Internet stability, improve DNS performance, and expand critical technical infrastructure across Africa and the globe. Through its operational and policy framework, AFRINIC supports authoritative DNS hosting for African country-code top-level domains (ccTLDs), reverse DNS (in-addr.arpa) zones, deployment of copy or Root servers, and a globally distributed anycast network that ensures resilient and secure DNS services. AFRINIC's infrastructure includes secondary nameservers for the reverse delegation zones specified in RFC 5855 (IN-ADDR.ARPA and IP6.ARPA), enhancing the robustness and reliability of global reverse DNS services. Major Milestone: Anycast DNS Node Successfully Deployed at Uganda IXP Advancing DNS Resilience Through the AFRINIC DNS Programme AFRINIC is pleased to announce the successful deployment of a new two Anycast DNS nodes at the Uganda Internet Exchange Point (U-IXP).
This is an important step in strengthening AFRINIC’s services local presence and regional DNS resilience, and it reflects our ongoing commitment to building a robust distributed DNS environment across Africa. In 2025, 6 IXPs joined our program and are currently hosting our 2 nodes namely the Lusaka IXP, Mauritius Internet Exchange Point (MIXP), the Zimbabwe Internet Exchange (ZINX), Douala IXP, Kinshasa internet exchange point (KINIX) and as mentioned earlier, the Uganda IXP. The benefits of this new deployment: Lower latency for DNS queries originating from Uganda and neighbouring regions Improved resilience and redundancy for African TLDs and reverse DNS zones Better fault tolerance and load distribution across AFRINIC’s growing anycast network Faster response time for the Uganda node Advancing DNS Resilience Through the AFRINIC DNS Programme AFRINIC is pleased to announce the successful deployment of a new two Anycast DNS nodes at the Uganda Internet Exchange Point (U-IXP). This is an important step in strengthening AFRINIC’s services local presence and regional DNS resilience, and it reflects our ongoing commitment to building a robust distributed DNS environment across Africa. In 2025, 6 IXPs joined our program and are currently hosting our 2 nodes namely the Lusaka IXP, Mauritius Internet Exchange Point (MIXP), the Zimbabwe Internet Exchange (ZINX), Douala IXP, Kinshasa internet exchange point (KINIX) and as mentioned earlier, the Uganda IXP. The benefits of this new deployment: Lower latency for DNS queries originating from Uganda and neighbouring regions Improved resilience and redundancy for African TLDs and reverse DNS zones Better fault tolerance and load distribution across AFRINIC’s growing anycast network Faster response time for the Uganda node Response time before deployment: 231.632 ms Response time after deployment : 14.715 ms This milestone serves as a strong example of how IXPs can contribute to Internet stability—and we encourage operators across Africa and globally to join us in hosting nodes that strengthen this critical infrastructure. You can view the Uganda IXP node along all the already deployed nodes live on our DNS node map: dnsmap.afrinic.net Why More IXPs and Operators Should Host AFRINIC DNS Nodes Why More IXPs and Operators Should Host AFRINIC DNS Nodes IXPs are among the best-positioned facilities to host DNS anycast nodes. Their dense interconnection environments and strategic geographic locations make them ideal for achieving optimal performance and redundancy. By hosting AFRINIC’s Anycast DNS nodes, organizations contribute to: Improved DNS response times for local users Stronger redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities for African and global DNS operations Greater Internet resilience through distributed reverse DNS (.arpa) and ccTLD infrastructure A healthier technical ecosystem, benefiting operators, enterprises, and governments Hosting a node also provides visibility, recognition, and alignment with regional and global Internet governance recommendations. AFRINIC currently hosts authoritative DNS for over 32 African first and second level ccTLDs, including .za (South Africa), .ke (Kenya), .ng (Nigeria), .mz (Mozambique), .ci (Côte d'Ivoire), .ug (Uganda), .gh (Ghana), and many others. The programme also supports numerous specialized zones closely tied to national digital ecosystems. Additionally, AFRINIC operates critical infrastructure for in-addr.arpa reverse DNS services via AS37181. This service is essential for global Internet operations, enabling important mechanisms such as email validation, security checks, and network diagnostics. Organizations and IXPs that host AFRINIC’s anycast nodes receive: Recognition as contributors to global Internet stability Visibility on AFRINIC platforms and infrastructure maps Technical collaboration opportunities with AFRINIC and community experts Improved DNS performance for their local networks A direct role in strengthening Africa’s digital ecosystem Running the program for so many years taught us how challenging deploying our setup could be. Recently, we simplified the deployment through the use of an easy-to-deploy template. This ensures that even operators without prior DNS anycast experience can host the service confidently and efficiently. These benefits create both technical and community value for participating operators. Join the Growing Network of DNS Hosting Partners AFRINIC's by hosting authoritative Domain Name System (DNS) services aim to be a significant driver for digital transformation and critical infrastructure development on the continent. By providing this service, AFRINIC contributes to localize Internet traffic, meaning DNS queries for hosted African domains are resolved closer to the users within Africa. This localization critically reduces latency, resulting in faster, more reliable, and a higher quality DNS resolution, which is essential for e-commerce, online services, and cloud computing. Furthermore, hosting this core infrastructure locally enhances digital sovereignty and Internet resilience by reducing reliance on offshore providers, safeguarding these vital national resources, and strengthening the overall security and stability of Africa's digital ecosystem. This foundational technical stability is key to unlocking the full potential of the continent's growing digital economy Following the successful deployment at Uganda IXP, AFRINIC is actively encouraging more IXPs and organizations across Africa and worldwide to partner with us in hosting anycast nodes. Interested operators can learn more and register here: https://dns.afrinic.net/?ff_landing=3
