Why Microsoft DNS Isn’t Appropriate for the JEDI Cloud

Last updated on August 23, 2021.

Now that Microsoft has won the huge DOD JEDI contract, we’re looking at the DNS options available for agencies looking to migrate.  While Azure DNS service is designed specifically for use in the cloud, it’s far more likely that agencies will try to operate in the JEDI cloud using the Microsoft DNS they use on prem.

While this default Microsoft DNS may be functioning just fine for your on-prem needs, you’ll soon find yourself running into problems if you use it for your cloud migration, and you’ll run into plenty afterwards.

Here is a breakdown of the reasons why Microsoft DNS isn’t the best choice for a cloud deployment.

It wasn’t designed with complexity in mind

What do Microsoft DNS and the prequel trilogy  have in common? They both sound good in theory, but don’t exactly work out in practice. A main issue with Microsoft DNS is its connection with  Active Directory – they were looking for a back-end, and DNS was the technology that fit the bill. Unfortunately, many network administrators assume that this connection makes Microsoft DNS appropriate for large networks at scale, when Microsoft never intended to use it in the complicated network architectures of today.

This is not to say that Microsoft DNS can’t serve DNS records; it still works as it should in a simple, single-use environment. When your network starts heading into the cloud, you’re going to need something far more sophisticated to deal with new layers of complexity.