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Understanding and Using PTRDNS Query Metrics

PTRDNS provides valuable insights into the queries received by its authoritative servers, offering metrics that can help you monitor and optimize your DNS usage. This data is made accessible through your Account page, allowing you to assess your current plan and ensure it aligns with your needs.

Monthly Usage Overview

On the Account page, you’ll find a summary of how much of your assigned monthly quota has been consumed up to the current day. This information is available for each active subscription. It’s an essential tool for evaluating whether your current PTRDNS plan is sufficient for your needs or if an upgrade may be necessary.

Here’s how it looks like on one of our test accounts, which barely uses its zone and monthly query allowance.

DNS Zones Used / Total - DNS Traffic Used / Total

Metrics Available on All Plans

On all plans, the Account page also displays a detailed breakdown of queries received by each zone. The data is categorized by:

  • Network Protocol: TCP and UDP
  • Network Family: IPv4 and IPv6

The statistics cover the current month and the two preceding months, providing a historical perspective on your query traffic. For example, this breakdown allows you to:

  • identify the proportion of traffic originating from IPv6-enabled networks
  • investigate the frequency of TCP queries, which could indicate the use of long DNS records that exceed the UDP size limit.
Table showing query totals by zone, year, month, network family and protocol

These insights help you better understand your DNS traffic patterns and optimize configurations as needed, for example adding a new secondary DNS at PTRDNS or at another provider.

Advanced Features for Carbon and Oxygen Plans

If you’re subscribed to the Carbon or Oxygen plans, additional data export options are available. You can download a detailed CSV file for all your zones, containing metrics for the past three months. This file includes a breakdown of queries by:

  • Network Family: IPv4 and IPv6.
  • Network Protocol: TCP and UDP.
  • Query Type (Q-Type): Such as A, AAAA, MX, or other DNS record types.

This feature provides a more granular view of your traffic, enabling deeper analysis. For instance, by analyzing Q-Type data, you can determine which record types generate the most traffic or identify potential anomalies in query patterns. Here’s how the data looks like:

Spreadsheet showing query metrics by zone, year, month, network family, network protocol and query type.

Real-Time Data Updates

The PTRDNS backend ensures that your metrics are refreshed hourly, keeping the information up to date and accurate. This real-time update cycle allows you to monitor DNS activity closely and respond quickly to any unexpected traffic spikes or usage patterns.

Like what you just read? You can sign up for PTRDNS and enjoy all of these features, plus large query quotas, short TTLs and PowerDNS API support from 5 EUR per month.

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