We <3 Open Source

[shane-kerr]

Someone needs to write some text about open source considerations

[maertsen]

Feel free to assign this to me. I don't have the privileges to do so myself.

Do you mean for us to write in the README.md?

[shane-kerr]

I'm happy either with writing in the README.md directly or with a separate file.

[maertsen]

some first notes

• open or closed licensing has no bearing security; neither is closed less secure on principle, nor are "unknown" contributions more of a risk in open.

pro:

• open allows for inspection, independent auditing, and troubleshooting
• open source can avoid vendor lock-in
• the existence of widely deployed open source implementations aids standards development, because proponents of new developments can contribute proof of concept implementations without permission or cooperation of vendors

conn:

• both open and closed require skilled maintenance, which has costs. Closed source software and appliances typically come with license fees to cover these. By contrast, open source by virtue of its license does not tie usage to monetary compensation. It is up to operators to think about diversity and continued sustainability of DNS implementations.

recommendation:

• ..
• Financially support open-source DNS software to ensure continued development. Some maintainers take donations, other offer support contracts.

[shane-ns1]

Recommendation: Choose any well-supported software that you are comfortable working with. Regardless of which software you choose, make sure that you have somewhere to go for support. In the case of open-source DNS software this may be financially supporting to ensure continued development. Some maintainers take donations, other offer support contracts.

There are both open source and proprietary implementations of DNS resolver software. Other modes are also possible, for example using proprietary extensions with open source software, or deploying software written in-house.

Neither open or closed licensing has any bearing on security; neither is closed less secure on principle, nor are contributions by "unknown" developers more of a risk in open source.

Benefits of open source

• open allows for inspection, independent auditing, and troubleshooting
• open source can avoid vendor lock-in
• the existence of widely-deployed open source implementations aids standards development, because proponents of new developments can contribute proof of concept implementations without permission or cooperation of vendors

Drawbacks of open source

• both open and closed require skilled maintenance, which has costs. Closed source software and appliances typically come with license fees to cover these. By contrast, open source by virtue of its license does not tie usage to monetary compensation. It is up to operators to think about diversity and continued sustainability of DNS implementations.

It may be worthwhile deploying software you are already running, for example a company using Microsoft systems may wish to use their resolver.

Please also consider deploying different software implementation to ensure diversity. This is discussed further in the diversity section. TODO

[maertsen]

PR #22 submitted; I believe we can close this issue if that work gets merged.

[moonshiner]

merged #22