by Dennis Burgess
On July 14, 2025, Cloudflare experienced a significant outage impacting its widely-used global DNS resolver, 1.1.1.1. This incident underscores a critical vulnerability faced by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) relying exclusively on global DNS resolvers.
Global DNS resolvers like Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1, Google’s 8.8.8.8, and Quad9's 9.9.9.9 have become popular choices due to their speed, security, and ease of configuration. However, the Cloudflare incident highlights the substantial risks involved in basing critical infrastructure entirely on external services beyond the direct influence of the ISP.
When ISPs depend solely on these global resolvers, they relinquish control over their DNS infrastructure to third parties. During the Cloudflare outage, ISPs using 1.1.1.1 had no power to expedite resolution or even receive timely communication about the ongoing issues. This lack of direct influence not only left ISPs in the dark but also prevented them from proactively communicating clear information to their customers.
Running a local DNS resolver provides ISPs with critical autonomy and influence. Local resolvers enable ISPs to:
Quickly identify and mitigate issues internally, providing real-time solutions rather than awaiting third-party responses.
Directly communicate with customers regarding outages, improving transparency and reducing confusion.
Implement customized DNS policies tailored to their network performance, security, and customer needs.
Reduce dependency on a single point of failure inherent in global DNS resolvers.
The July 14 Cloudflare incident is a powerful lesson: while global resolvers offer benefits, exclusive reliance exposes ISPs to unnecessary risk and reduced operational control. ISPs committed to robust service availability and customer satisfaction must seriously consider operating their own DNS infrastructure to maintain independence and reliability. This proactive approach not only improves service resilience but also enhances customer trust and satisfaction in the face of unforeseen global outages.
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https://blog.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-1-1-1-1-incident-on-july-14-2025/