How can I handle over 10,000 DNS queries per second with Route 53 Resolver? Is using multiple endpoints with a load balancer a good idea?

Question

I am designing a solution to handle DNS query volumes greater than 10,000 QPS (queries per second) using Amazon Route 53 Resolver Inbound Endpoints. However, I am aware that Route 53 Resolver Inbound Endpoints have a default limit of 10,000 QPS per endpoint. Given this limitation, what is the best approach to scale for handling significantly higher DNS query loads? Would deploying multiple Route 53 Resolver Inbound Endpoints, with a Network Load Balancer (NLB) in front to distribute traffic across the endpoints, be a viable solution for managing this increased query volume?

Andrew Istfan · Accepted Answer

Hi Umang!

While Resolver Inbound Endpoints are limited to 10,000 QPS, there are architectural decisions that will you to overcome this limitation. If traffic destined for Resolver Endpoints are routed through a Network Load Balancer, the maximum QPS can be as low as 1,500. Instead, you would deploy multiple Resolver Endpoints and configure DNS Forwarding on your on-premise network to multiple IP addresses (the IPs of the Resolver Endpoints you have deployed) rather than the single IP of a Network Load Balancer in the architecture you mentioned.

Details on the limits of Resolver Endpoints when fronted by a Network Load Balancer can be found here:
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/Route53/latest/DeveloperGuide/DNSLimitations.html#limits-api-entities

How can I handle over 10,000 DNS queries per second with Route 53 Resolver? Is using multiple endpoints with a load balancer a good idea?

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