IBM NS1 Connect

Turn DNS into a real-time traffic control plane with a 100% SLA

Overview

Intelligent DNS for real-time traffic control

IBM NS1 Connect transforms DNS into a decision layer that routes users to the best endpoint based on real-time performance, availability and geography.

Powered by a global anycast network and intelligent traffic steering, it helps you prevent outages, optimize latency and stay in control with API-first automation.

Features

Make smarter traffic decisions in real time

IBM® NS1 Connect® go beyond basic DNS resolution and use intelligent DNS to make real-time routing decisions using performance data, health signals and intelligent policies. Improve uptime, reduce latency and automate traffic control across your infrastructure.

 

Explore DNS traffic control

Route users to the nearest and best performing endpoint using a globally distributed anycast network.

  • Reduce latency worldwide with 26+ points of presence across six continents
  • Ensure high availability by routing queries to the closest healthy location
  • Handle traffic spikes automatically with globally distributed capacity
UI screenshot of anycast DNS

Manage DNS through APIs and infrastructure-as-code so your team can ship faster, reduce manual work and keep changes consistent

  • Integrate with Terraform, Ansible and CI/CD workflows to automate zone creation and policy updates
  • Reduce manual changes and deployment risk with repeatable, API-driven provisioning
  • Push DNS updates in real time with consistent, reliable deployments
  • Scale operations across teams with workflows that fit your DevOps environment
  • Give application teams controlled access through custom tooling and delegated management
A screenshot showing the API UI

Automatically detect, absorb, and mitigate DDoS attacks without disrupting user experience.

  • Absorb massive traffic spikes with globally distributed capacity handling up to 50× normal load
  • Block malicious traffic automatically with protocol-level filtering that stops common attack vectors
  • Maintain uptime under heavy load with systems designed to handle query floods and traffic surges
Screenshot showing the DDoS protection feature

Automatically manage HTTPS redirects and certificates so your traffic stays secure without manual setup or maintenance.

  • Redirect traffic securely with DNS-integrated HTTPS forwarding
  • Manage certificates automatically without manual configuration
  • Eliminate renewal overhead with automated certificate updates
  •  Maintain consistent user experience across domains and redirects
A screenshot showing the HTTPS redirects feature

Automatically prevent downtime: Combine real-time health checks with intelligent traffic steering to keep applications available without manual intervention.

  • Track endpoint health in real time with flexible monitoring checks
  • Alert your team instantly when performance degrades or outages occur
  • Automatically shift traffic to healthy endpoints using built-in traffic steering
Products screenshot showing the uptime monitor feature
Use cases

What you can do with NS1 Connect

Detect failures and reroute traffic instantly

Keep applications available by continuously monitoring endpoint health and automatically routing traffic to healthy destinations. NS1 helps you prevent outages before users are impacted—without manual intervention.

Route users to the best endpoint in real time

Use intelligent traffic steering to direct users based on performance, availability, and location. Combine real-time data, load balancing, and multi-CDN routing to deliver fast, reliable experiences everywhere.

Understand and control DNS performance in real time

Get real-time visibility into DNS performance, health, and traffic patterns so you can quickly detect issues and make informed routing decisions. Diagnose problems faster, reduce downtime, and improve reliability across your infrastructure.

Route traffic across CDNs in real time

Automatically direct users to the fastest and most reliable CDN based on real-time performance and availability. Reduce latency, avoid outages, and optimize delivery without manual traffic management.

NS1 Connect product screenshot showing a Pulsar analysis dashboard for multi CDN Steering

Interactive demo

Case studies

Real clients. Real results.

Dropbox cuts latency with intelligent DNS
10-15%
reduced DNS latency for global users
Catchpoint strengthens DNS resilience
100% uptime
reliable DNS for global monitoring
GlobalDots scales with intelligent routing
30+ CDNs
steers traffic across multiple CDNs
IO River enables granular, resilient traffic steering
100% uptime
since IBM NS1 Connect implementation
Integrations

Built‑in integrations for seamless DevOps

IBM NS1 Connect features built-in integrations with some of the most widely used infrastructure-as-code tools, empowering DevOps teams to make reliable, secure deployment changes without the friction of traditional processes.

See all integrations

Terraform

Terraform is an infrastructure-as-code software that enables DevOps teams to safely and predictably create, change and reproduce production infrastructure. The IBM® NS1 Connect Terraform Provider integration supports automatic creation and updates of configurations at scale.

Ansible

Ansible is a powerful DevOps automation toolkit. The NS1 Connect Ansible module supports automated management of your zones and records, including full support for configuring Filter Chains. Integrate IBM® NS1 Connect into your provisioning and deployment automation pipeline.

Pricing

Choose the right plan for your business

Improve your network resilience with IBM NS1 Connect, available through flexible plan options—essential, standard and premium. Premium users can add performance and security add‑ons based on their needs, giving you the flexibility to expand capabilities, scale as you grow and pay only for what you use.

 

Explore pricing

Find your NS1 Connect plan

Take the next step

Start a free trial or book a live demo to see how NS1 Connect intelligently steers traffic, boosts performance and gives you full control.

  1. Start free trial
  2. Book live demo