IBM NS1 Connect Reviews

Vendor: IBM

4.8 out of 5

11 reviews
100% willing to recommend

What is IBM NS1 Connect?

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IBM NS1 Connect is the #12 ranked solution in top Managed DNS solutions. PeerSpot users give IBM NS1 Connect an average rating of 9.6 out of 10. IBM NS1 Connect is most commonly compared to Cloudflare: IBM NS1 Connect vs Cloudflare. IBM NS1 Connect is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 53% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 15% of all views.

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Featured reviews

Adam Surak

VP of Infrastructure & Security at Algolia

We leverage two things from Managed DNS that we couldn't do with any other solution. One is their filter chain technology, which allows us to shift some of the intelligence we need for the traffic steering to the DNS. The second one is data sources, which enables us to manipulate multiple records simultaneously using NS1's internal message DOS. In our case, we are trying to direct the traffic in over 150,000 different NS1 records to an arbitrary set of repeating responses. If we have about 1,000 endpoints, that translates to around 150,000 records. Assuming there's an even distribution, so every time a server fails or an endpoint goes on a level, we would have 150 updates. With NS1, we have one, so this had an even more significant effect. There are situations where we have thousands of specific records sharing the same responses. In that case, there is one update instead of thousands and thousands. When we chose Managed DNS in 2014, it was the only solution that could do what we wanted, but I'm not sure about the current state of the market. The NS1 API is an API on top of a managed DNS. It's not an afterthought. It's not like the solution existed. Someone was sending updates by email. Then a product manager came along and said, "Hey, there is this cool thing. It's called an API. Maybe we should do it?" And they are like, "Okay. Let's do it." In the case of NS1, they thought about how to use an API to manipulate and retrieve the stuff. It's supposed to be API-driven. Also, NS1 doesn't have hidden features that would not be available over the API. Even their dashboard is built on top of the API. You can leverage all the functionality programmatically. That's what we do. We don't use their native integrations because we have been customers before these integrations and real-time telemetry existed. Our solution isn't leveraging either of those. Instead, we leveraged their API integration, which was the first thing that existed. Indeed, the API is at the core of how we use Managed DNS. No one goes to the dashboard or manually clicks anything. Everything goes via the API, and we perform hundreds of changes every minute. The API automatically drives everything, so that's the integration we leverage. We don't use the Pulsar Active Steering feature because we don't have a website. Our solution is being used as an API for other solutions. You can put the Pulsar agent on the website and feed NS1 the information. In our case, we are integrating into third-party sites. We cannot put our JavaScript on their websites for NS1 to provide the data, so we don't.

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Valentino Volonghi

Chief Technology Officer at NextRoll

We use the geo load balancing functionality and there are a couple of things that are helpful there. But the language itself is something we had to get used to a little bit. Some of my folks made a few mistakes in rolling out the Filter Chain. It doesn't return all of the multiple results by default. It returns only one. So we have to add a bunch of operations, like geo-target by first selecting a group in terms of regional proximity and then shuffle the list of potential endpoints and then select the first one. The Filter Chain setup is a bit hard to grasp at first. It would also be nice to have a way to simulate changes in addition to staging. Also, right now, as far as I understand, there is no way to do atomic changes to a DNS configuration. You need to make changes record by record and apply. But if someone wants to do more complex stuff like, for example, if I want to migrate from a CNAME to an A record being served, or vice versa, that's typically something that involves first taking out all of the CNAMEs and then adding all of the A records. That would require some downtime. It would be a lot easier if I could just have the new full record with the CNAME or A record, and then be able to replace the nodes directly in a single operation and I don't think they have that.

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Michael Wills

Senior Network Systems Engineer at McKesson

The provisioning is great. They have an API service that is simple to use and very quick. The changes that we make are replicated worldwide in a matter of usually milliseconds, sometimes seconds. They are done very rapidly. That's something that's obviously priceless when we're dealing with things like DNS. It is great as an API-first platform for DNS and application traffic management. It is very simple to use. It allows us to rapidly provision and deprovision things. We are all around happy with the solution. From a metrics standpoint, the solution that we came from had no metrics. So, it has been great. Their service team is excellent in taking the time to provide reports for both growth and strategic planning. It has been great.

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IBM NS1 Connect mindshare

As of January 2025, the mindshare of IBM NS1 Connect in the Managed DNS category stands at 2.6%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Managed DNS

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	Managed DNS	Jan 22, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Jan 22, 2025	Download
Comparison	IBM NS1 Connect vs Cloudflare	Jan 22, 2025	Download
Comparison	IBM NS1 Connect vs Amazon Route 53	Jan 22, 2025	Download
Comparison	IBM NS1 Connect vs Quad9	Jan 22, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Cloudflare	4.2	N/A	95%	71 interviews Add to research
Azure DNS	4.2	19.6%	93%	32 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Filter Chain for geo-load balancing, API-first platform, automation with Terraform, real-time telemetry, latency detection, application telemetry, Pulsar feature for traffic management, ease of integration, Smart Domains for routing, DNSSEC, observability, and redundancy in monitoring are key features valued by users. API-driven approach and excellent support enhance infrastructure management. Connectivity with Terraform and low latency access significantly improves user experience and adaptability.

"The provisioning is great. They have an API service that is simple to use and very quick. The changes that we make are replicated worldwide in a matter of usually milliseconds, sometimes seconds. They are done very rapidly. That's something that's obviously priceless when we're dealing with things like DNS."
"Their Pulsar filters allow us to collect RUM metrics from our users so that we can determine the best paths for our users to take. That has been very useful in providing the best user experience, and for responding to and recovering from downtime of our multiple CDNs."
"One of the features that is non-standard and that is very useful is the filtered DNS. We have set up our external VPN, which is what all our employees connect through, to use this feature. It's geolocation-aware. In that way, for India we set it up so that these are the servers that should be supporting things, and in the UK these servers, in the U.S. these servers, and in Sweden these ones."

Room for Improvement

IBM NS1 Connect requires enhancements in its testing capabilities and API simulation to enable pre-deployment testing. Users desire faster operations, bulk change features for modifications, and improved reliability in monitoring to avoid false positives. The UI needs refining for finer search functions and reporting metrics. Managing internal and external DNS separately would increase security. Improved usability of geo-load balancing and Filter Chain, along with atomic DNS changes, would prevent downtime during migrations.

"The reporting metrics are great from an API standpoint, but it would be a little bit nicer if there was some type of dashboard around that. There should also be some type of reporting that's more executive-level focused."
"I would love to see improvement in the testing capabilities they provide. They have a simulate-filter feature so that you can simulate how your traffic would flow, based on their Filter Chains. I believe that was shut off for quite some time. Having that as a way to test our load-balanced CDN structure would be fantastic."
"When we first deployed, we flipped the switch, and it didn't work as well as we expected. It wasn't a complete outage, but we had issues in some places with some customers. The NS1 team went out of their way to resolve it on Thanksgiving. We have a post about it on our blog. We called it "Black Thursday.""

ROI

Users have experienced a positive return on investment from IBM NS1 Connect due to improved application uptime, enhanced performance, and streamlined automation. They save time on manual processes, avoid investing heavily in custom DNS infrastructure, and benefit from stable, set-and-forget capabilities. The managed DNS service contributes to quicker software development cycles by reducing manual interventions and alleviates the need for additional server infrastructure, making it a valuable investment.

Pricing

IBM NS1 Connect offers competitive and fair pricing, positioned aggressively compared to competitors. Enterprise users indicate costs around $30,000 monthly, appreciating the value and features compared to previous choices like Dyn. Pricing accommodates high volumes, such as 4.5 billion requests, with capabilities for load balancing and DNS management. Users note satisfaction with licensing, acknowledging the potential for overage costs and appreciating tailored, flexible pricing plans that meet organizational needs without complaints from decision-makers.

"From a cost standpoint, it's certainly not the most expensive out there, and it's also not the cheapest, but it does well to balance the cost and the functionality/reliability."
"Everything can always be cheaper, but as it is today the pricing is fair."
"We pay about $30,000 a month. We used to pay about $20,000 with Dyn every month, for lower volume than we're doing right now, but it had none of the features that we have available with NS1, so it was worth it for us. It seems competitive for us, given that we're doing 4.5 billion requests."

Popular Use Cases

The primary use of IBM NS1 Connect involves directing internet traffic through DNS management to ensure optimal connections. Users employ Managed DNS for automated DNS record deployment, leveraging APIs for seamless operations. Traffic is routed to the nearest endpoint, reducing latency and managing external DNS. It is used globally for content delivery network optimization, ensuring data requests meet low-latency requirements and can handle substantial request volumes. They find integration with automation processes beneficial.

Service and Support

IBM NS1 Connect is praised for exceptional customer service and support. The customer success and technical support teams are attentive, transparent, and highly knowledgeable. They provide swift, professional assistance, often going above and beyond to resolve issues. Users appreciate the dedication and communication, noting quick response times and expertise in DNS protocols. Technical support is detailed and user-friendly. The customer success team consistently checks in, offers improvement plans, and supports strategic planning effectively.

Deployment

IBM NS1 Connect's initial setup is often described as simple and efficient. Users frequently note seamless migration with no downtime. The process involved steps like syncing and utilizing APIs, with some relying on NS1's support for guidance. The setup duration varied, from hours to weeks, depending on organization size and administrative tasks. Many companies migrated domains incrementally, and some utilized scripts for importing data, appreciating the automation capabilities offered by IBM NS1 Connect.

Scalability

IBM NS1 Connect has demonstrated strong scalability, effectively handling varying traffic and meeting SLAs without added complexity. Users find it easy to scale, adaptable to different setups and demands. It supports high query volumes across global data centers, ensuring reliability even as traffic patterns shift. Automation plays a significant role, allowing seamless integration into existing infrastructures. As businesses expand, IBM NS1 Connect continues to satisfy scaling requirements, supporting growing DNS needs efficiently.

Stability

IBM NS1 Connect maintains strong stability. Users report minimal issues with uptime, achieving a 99.99% SLA. Its Managed and Dedicated DNS are stable, with no significant outages. Scalability supports high traffic efficiently, frequently hundreds of thousands daily. The platform withstands DDoS attacks and remains reliable over extended periods. Users convey high satisfaction with its availability, confirming its excellent maintenance and stability from an engineering perspective.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our IBM NS1 Connect Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

University

Government

Manufacturing Company

Media Company

Healthcare Company

Hospitality Company

Educational Organization

Retailer

Insurance Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Construction Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Non Profit

Performing Arts

Consumer Goods Company

Outsourcing Company

Transportation Company

Pharma/Biotech Company

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Legal Firm

Marketing Services Firm

Wholesaler/Distributor

Engineering Company

Compare IBM NS1 Connect with alternative products

Learn more about IBM NS1 Connect

Why

In a 24/7 world, customers demand applications, websites, and content that load instantly and are always on. When those connections are unreliable or slow, businesses don’t meet customer expectations, causing customers to leave. When that occurs, revenue may suffer.

What

IBM NS1 Connect delivers the high-performance, reliable, secure network connectivity that businesses need to meet increasingly sophisticated customer expectations. Leveraging a global network with a 100% uptime SLA, IBM has the capacity and scale to meet the needs of any business. IBM NS1 Connect takes performance to the next level, powering the sophisticated needs of enterprises with complex network infrastructures.

How

IBM NS1 Connect provides network connectivity solutions that give networking teams the visibility, control and automation needed to help ensure your business stays online by steering traffic to the ideal network connections for any given moment. IBM NS1 Connect also enables IT teams to identify network performance anomalies through deep insights into DNS data flows, allowing them to identify configuration problems or network issues that affect performance so they can quickly resolve them.

Details

IBM NS1 Connect is a managed service that provides authoritative, premium DNS and advanced, customizable traffic steering that improves application performance and network resilience. Revenue-generating applications require authoritative DNS resolution to keep critical applications and websites online. Unless your DNS infrastructure is always-on and resilient, network reliability and user experience will suffer, your network reliability may suffer, resulting in poor user experiences if revenue-generating critical applications and websites are not online. IBM NS1 Connect’s always-on, API-first architecture provides fast, secure connections to users anywhere in the world with premium DNS and advanced, customizable traffic steering. It also enables your IT teams to efficiently monitor networks, deploy changes and conduct routine maintenance.

IBM NS1 Connect uses the Domain Name System (DNS) to ensure that websites and applications are:

Online, all the time: Global network with 100% uptime SLA and DDoS protection
Fast: Top tier response and propagation times, custom traffic steering to optimize connections
Cheaper to run: Far less expensive than self-hosting
Automation friendly: API-first platform with Ansible/Terraform integrations and support for Pliant rapid network automation
Easier to troubleshoot: Unique DNS data insights offering

Designed for enterprises looking to optimize their DNS performance, IBM NS1 Connect is a managed service delivering authoritative DNS and advanced traffic steering that improves application performance and network resilience and provides fast, secure connectionsto users anywhere in the world. NS1 Connect streamlines DNS managementby automating both simple and complex DNS configuration tasks via API and preconfigured integrations, so you can spend more time on higher-value work.

IBM NS1 Connect is delivered through our unified delivery platform. The cloud-based platform gives networking teams the visibility, control and automation needed to help ensure your business stays online by steering traffic to the ideal network connections for any given moment. IBM NS1 Connect solutions also enable IT teams to identify network performance anomalies through deep insights into DNS data flows, allowing them to identify configuration problems or network issues that affect performance so they can quickly resolve them.

For enterprises looking to further optimize DNS performance, IBM NS1 Connect offers rich DNS data analytics to streamline the identification of the root cause of anomalies within traffic.

IBM NS1 Connect Features

Global anycast DNS network: Enjoy fast connections to consumers around the globe through an anycast network with 26 points of presence (PoPs).
100% uptime SLA on DNS resolution: Maximize uptime and revenue generation with resilient, always-on, authoritative DNS.
API-first architecture: Integrate and automate workflows with NS1 Connect's well-documented API; every line of code starts as an API call, all functionality is available through the API.
Real-time user monitoring (RUM)-based traffic steering: Uses real-time intelligence on network performance and availability to direct DNS connections to the best available application resource; the widest range of filter options and data sources in the industry, not data that is extrapolated from sampling; the most flexible, granular controls for your network.
Built-in resilience: Add a single-tenant, redundant DNS layer and manage it from a single control plane as your primary DNS.
Managed DNS for China: Improve performance for the Chinese mainland by segmenting traffic with NS1 Connect’s Managed DNS for China.
DNS insights: Get a better understanding of DNS traffic patterns by mining your DNS data to identify security issues, misconfigurations and performance issues.
DDoS protection: Cap your query-based spending with protection against unexpected surges in traffic from distributed denial-of-service attacks.
Uptime monitor: Quickly identify issues and automatically adjust DNS traffic steering configurations with native health check alerts.
DevOps tool integrations: Preconfigured integrations with leading DevOps tools including Ansible and Terraform to help automate routine maintenance, manage data sources and feeds.
Propagation speed: fastest propagation in the industry, measured in seconds not minutes; worldwide propagation in under five seconds.
Independence: neutral arbiter between infrastructure services (CDNs, clouds).

IBM NS1 Connect helps enterprises modernize and optimize networking infrastructure to provide customers with faster connections to websites, applications, services and content.

IBM NS1 Connect was previously known as NS1 Managed DNS, NS1.

IBM NS1 Connect customers

Avast Software, Bloomberg L.P., BBC, Carfax, CNBC LLC, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Disney Streaming, Dropbox, EBAY Inc, Gannett Media Corp, Salesforce, Wayfair, Workday