IP geolocation databases are frequently used to geolocate routers, but are they reliable? Geolocation databases are run by third-party companies and contain information on the location of a specific IP address. For example, if businesses want to know the city and country of the visitors that frequent their website, they consult the database (via the country locator plugin) to find the specific location of the visitor. Consulting a database is one of the few ways businesses gain a better understanding of their customer base, so it is important to be sure if the database is reliable enough to geolocate routers.
.png)
Are IP geolocation databases reliable?
When it comes to IP geolocation databases, there have been many tests conducted on end-host addresses. However, there has been little attention given to infrastructure IP addresses, like router interfaces. To test the accuracy of geolocation IP addresses, a sample of IP addresses was compared using a ground truth set of several IP addresses and locations at the city level. These studies showed that some of the most prominent IP databases have low accuracy at a country-level. While some databases are more accurate than others, most IP databases struggle with generating accurate readings at the country-level when geolocating routers. Compounding the matter is the fact that accuracy varies significantly between countries. When it comes to geolocating routers at the city-level, experiments indicate that most IP databases have both low coverage and low accuracy.
Why is accuracy low when geolocating routers?
There are several reasons why an IP geolocation database struggles to geolocate routers accurately. Most databases draw their information from different sources like registry data and airport codes. However, if the data from these sources is inaccurate, then the IP database is not going to be accurate. The problem is further compounded by the lack of a publicly available dataset that can reliably tie IP addresses to physical locations.
There is also the issue of naming conventions. Large metropolitan areas often use airport codes tied to a city or state. While the airport codes provide some information, they are generally not sufficient for tracking routers. Furthermore, there is also the question of consistency across providers. Different providers have their unique naming conventions within hostnames, which means interpretation of hostnames needs to be reviewed on a provider by provider basis before incorporating the information into the geolocation database. Naturally, this compromises the accuracy of the database when geotracking a router.
Geolocating routers via a geolocation database requires a lot of measurement tools like tracerouting, widgets and pings to trace IP addresses. However, there is a lot of room for measurements to go wrong. Even if the business is using a satellite internet provider, locating routers is still challenging because the satellites cover massive geographical areas.
In addition to geographical areas, users themselves might prevent their IP address from being tracked. Users can hide their real address using VPNs, proxy servers and relay networks, which makes it even more difficult to accurately geolocate a router because the IP address is effectively hidden. There are several reasons why users might want to disguise their IP address. For example, they want to access media content not available in their region.
What can businesses do to geolocate routers?
Businesses have few alternatives when it comes to geolocating the routers of their potential customer base. While IP geolocation databases are not perfect, they are the best solution available. Hence, when using databases, businesses should be aware of their shortcomings and pay attention to accuracy claims, coverage and default locations. Many geolocation IP databases claim high accuracy levels ranging from 85% to 99%, which businesses need to validate before using the database.
As a rule of thumb, city-level accuracy tends to be lower than the state or country level. In terms of coverage, it means considering IP address space for location against the percentage of routable addresses. Businesses should be using databases that cover a wide area. There is also the issue of default locations because IP service providers rely on GPS coordinates, which are not always accurate because they work by mapping a general location in the geography.
IP geolocation databases are not perfect for geo-routing routers, but by accounting for and working around their weaknesses, businesses can get an estimate of their location.
What is geographic DNS routing?
Geographic DNS routing, also known as geolocation or geo-routing, is a networking technique used to improve the performance of online services by directing DNS queries based on where the user is located globally.
The goal here is to minimize latency and optimize resource allocation by routing traffic to the nearest available server or resource. In the end, this provides the user with a faster experience.
With the combined power of geographical location data and advanced algorithms, geographic DNS routing helps organizations restructure their network to the specific needs of their users across different regions.
Whether it's delivering content, processing transactions, or accessing services, geographic DNS routing plays a heavy role in making sure users receive fast and reliable access to online resources, regardless of where they are in the world.
How does geographic DNS routing work?
Geographic DNS routing works through a series of steps made to determine the most efficient server or resource for responding to DNS queries based on the requester’s geographic location.
Here's a step-by-step overview of how geographic DNS routing works:
- When a DNS query is initiated by a user or device, it is sent to a DNS resolver, typically provided by an internet service provider (ISP) or a third-party DNS provider.
- Then, the DNS resolver analyzes the requester’s location using either the IP address of their device, or additional location information provided by the resolver.
- The DNS resolver then queries the DNS authoritative servers responsible for the domain name in question to retrieve the corresponding DNS records.
- Based on where the requester is and the location data associated with the DNS records, the DNS resolver calculates which is the optimal server or resource to handle the request.
- Using geolocation databases and algorithms, the DNS resolver finds the closest available server or resource to the requester's location and forwards the DNS query accordingly.
- Lastly, the selected server or resource processes the DNS query and responds to the resolver, which in turn delivers the DNS response to the requester, completing the routing process.
As you can see, geographic DNS routing helps by sending DNS queries based on where users are located. This means they get connected to the closest resources, which makes things faster, more reliable, and better performing across different parts of the network.
Copywriter
