A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System

Wouter B. de Vries; Quirin Scheitle; Moritz Müller; Willem Toorop; Ralph Dolmans; Roland van Rijswijk-Deij

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-15986-3_10

A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System

Wouter B. de Vries^*, Quirin Scheitle, Moritz Müller, Willem Toorop, Ralph Dolmans, Roland van Rijswijk-Deij

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

28 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a critical part of network and Internet infrastructure; DNS lookups precede almost any user request. DNS lookups may contain private information about the sites and services a user contacts, which has spawned efforts to protect privacy of users, such as transport encryption through DNS-over-TLS or DNS-over-HTTPS. In this work, we provide a first look on the resolver-side technique of query name minimization (qmin), which was standardized in March 2016 as RFC 7816. qmin aims to only send minimal information to authoritative name servers, reducing the number of servers that full DNS query names are exposed to. Using passive and active measurements, we show a slow but steady adoption of qmin on the Internet, with a surprising variety in implementations of the standard. Using controlled experiments in a test-bed, we validate lookup behavior of various resolvers, and quantify that qmin both increases the number of DNS lookups by up to 26%, and also leads to up to 5% more failed lookups. We conclude our work with a discussion of qmin’s risks and benefits, and give advice for future use.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Passive and Active Measurement
Subtitle of host publication	20th International Conference, PAM 2019, Proceedings
Editors	David Choffnes, Marinho Barcellos
Publisher	Springer
Pages	147-160
Number of pages	14
ISBN (Electronic)	978-3-030-15986-3
ISBN (Print)	978-3-030-15985-6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15986-3_10
Publication status	Published - 13 Mar 2019
Event	20th International Conference on Passive and Active Measurement, PAM 2019 - Puerto Varas, Chile Duration: 27 Mar 2019 → 29 Mar 2019 Conference number: 20

Publication series

Name	Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume	11419 LNCS
ISSN (Print)	0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)	1611-3349

Conference

Conference	20th International Conference on Passive and Active Measurement, PAM 2019
Abbreviated title	PAM 2019
Country/Territory	Chile
City	Puerto Varas
Period	27/03/19 → 29/03/19

Keywords

DNS
Measurements
Privacy
QNAME minimization

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-030-15986-3_10

Cite this

de Vries, W. B., Scheitle, Q., Müller, M., Toorop, W., Dolmans, R., & van Rijswijk-Deij, R. (2019). A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System. In D. Choffnes, & M. Barcellos (Eds.), Passive and Active Measurement: 20th International Conference, PAM 2019, Proceedings (pp. 147-160). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 11419 LNCS). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15986-3_10

de Vries, Wouter B. ; Scheitle, Quirin ; Müller, Moritz et al. / A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System. Passive and Active Measurement: 20th International Conference, PAM 2019, Proceedings. editor / David Choffnes ; Marinho Barcellos. Springer, 2019. pp. 147-160 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)).

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abstract = "The Domain Name System (DNS) is a critical part of network and Internet infrastructure; DNS lookups precede almost any user request. DNS lookups may contain private information about the sites and services a user contacts, which has spawned efforts to protect privacy of users, such as transport encryption through DNS-over-TLS or DNS-over-HTTPS. In this work, we provide a first look on the resolver-side technique of query name minimization (qmin), which was standardized in March 2016 as RFC 7816. qmin aims to only send minimal information to authoritative name servers, reducing the number of servers that full DNS query names are exposed to. Using passive and active measurements, we show a slow but steady adoption of qmin on the Internet, with a surprising variety in implementations of the standard. Using controlled experiments in a test-bed, we validate lookup behavior of various resolvers, and quantify that qmin both increases the number of DNS lookups by up to 26%, and also leads to up to 5% more failed lookups. We conclude our work with a discussion of qmin{\textquoteright}s risks and benefits, and give advice for future use.",

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de Vries, WB, Scheitle, Q, Müller, M, Toorop, W, Dolmans, R & van Rijswijk-Deij, R 2019, A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System. in D Choffnes & M Barcellos (eds), Passive and Active Measurement: 20th International Conference, PAM 2019, Proceedings. Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics), vol. 11419 LNCS, Springer, pp. 147-160, 20th International Conference on Passive and Active Measurement, PAM 2019, Puerto Varas, Chile, 27/03/19. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15986-3_10

A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System. / de Vries, Wouter B.; Scheitle, Quirin; Müller, Moritz et al.
Passive and Active Measurement: 20th International Conference, PAM 2019, Proceedings. ed. / David Choffnes; Marinho Barcellos. Springer, 2019. p. 147-160 (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics); Vol. 11419 LNCS).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution › Academic › peer-review

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AU - Scheitle, Quirin

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AU - Dolmans, Ralph

AU - van Rijswijk-Deij, Roland

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de Vries WB, Scheitle Q, Müller M, Toorop W, Dolmans R, van Rijswijk-Deij R. A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System. In Choffnes D, Barcellos M, editors, Passive and Active Measurement: 20th International Conference, PAM 2019, Proceedings. Springer. 2019. p. 147-160. (Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)). doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-15986-3_10

A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Best Dataset Award

Cite this

A First Look at QNAME Minimization in the Domain Name System

Abstract

Publication series

Conference

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Prizes

Best Dataset Award

Cite this