CortexDNS
Enterprise DNS Firewall
A protective DNS firewall that inspects and filters every query at the DNS layer — blocking malware, phishing, command-and-control and data-exfiltration domains before they resolve. Enterprise-grade DNSSEC validation, DDoS protection with intelligent rate limiting, threat-feed-driven filtering, role-based access control, SIEM integration, real-time analytics and DNS over TLS.
Capabilities
Core Features
Every query inspected and filtered at the DNS layer — one protective firewall for the whole network.
DNS-Layer Threat Blocking
Cortex Edge and Cortex Filter inspect every query and block malicious domains network-wide before they resolve, driven by live threat intelligence from Batin.
DNSSEC & DDoS Protection
Automated DNSSEC key management and zone signing. Built-in DDoS mitigation with intelligent rate limiting, query throttling, and threat detection via Cortex Edge.
DNS Filtering
Cortex Filter provides network-wide ad blocking, malware domain filtering, and content categorization. Custom blocklists and whitelists with granular control.
RBAC & SSO
Cortex IAM provides standards-based single sign-on. Fine-grained role-based access control for zones, records, and administrative functions.
SIEM Integration
Native integration with enterprise security platforms. Export DNS logs and events to your SIEM for centralized security monitoring.
Real-Time Analytics
Cortex Analytics engine with query classification, response time tracking, geographic distribution, and trend analysis dashboards for complete DNS visibility.
System Design
Architecture
Purpose-built DNS components unified under a single management layer.
High-performance authoritative DNS engine. Handles zone serving, DNSSEC signing, ALIAS records, and supports all standard DNS record types with relational database backend.
DNS-aware edge gateway and traffic director. Provides rate limiting, query routing, DoT/DoH termination, and DDoS protection at the DNS protocol level.
Network-level threat and content filtering engine. Blocklist management, query logging, client group policies, and DNS sinkholing for security and content control.
Recursive DNS resolver with DNSSEC validation. Handles upstream resolution, intelligent caching, and serves as the backbone for internal DNS queries.
Enterprise identity and access management module. Standards-based authentication, user federation, role management, and single sign-on for the management UI.
High-performance analytics engine for DNS query logs. Enables real-time dashboards, query pattern analysis, and long-term trend storage at massive scale.
Enterprise Deployment
High Availability Cluster
Production-grade 3-node active-passive cluster with automatic failover under 30 seconds. Zero single points of failure.
Database HA
Patroni + etcd
Streaming replication with RAFT consensus. Automatic leader election and failover in under 30 seconds. Zero data loss with synchronous commit.
< 30s failoverDNS Replication
Master / Slave AXFR
Cortex Auth master-slave replication with AXFR zone transfers and NOTIFY propagation. Slaves continue serving DNS during master failure.
< 60s propagationVirtual IP Failover
Keepalived VRRP
Dual Virtual IPs for web and DNS traffic with health-check driven failover. Clients never notice a node going down.
< 3s failoverIAM Cluster
JDBC_PING Discovery
Cortex IAM instances form a cluster via JDBC discovery with distributed session caching. No multicast or external coordination required.
< 10s failoverCache HA
Quorum-based Election
A three-node cache tier with quorum-based master election. Automatic replica promotion ensures cache continuity.
< 30s failoverFilter Sync
Orbital Replication
Cortex Filter blocklists and configuration synchronized across all nodes every 5 minutes. Consistent filtering policy on every node.
5 min syncHave a project in mind?
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