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We are going replace our DNS provider and considering UltraDNS. I like the fact that I will have Geo-DNS and fail over.

Obviously the pain point is the price.
DNSMadeEasy is a lot cheaper and based of the info I gathered just as reliable. The only major difference I see is the lack of Geo DNS.

Are there any other differences I'm missing? What is the reason for this price difference?

Thanks,
Berry

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Are you comparing plans with the same features at each vendor? If one includes Geo DNS and the other doesn't then that would make sense as to why it costs more. A cheeseburger with everything costs more than a cheeseburger with ketchup only. – joeqwerty Jan 25 '11 at 18:55
yes but not 4-5 times more if both of them have the same meat – Berry Tza Jan 25 '11 at 20:24
It may be a case of having to scrutinize everything that's included in each vendors offering and possibly asking the vendor why they're so much more expensive than their competition. – joeqwerty Jan 25 '11 at 20:38
Shopping questions are now off-topic as per the FAQ. Additionally there is a crapload of spam being attracted to this question. – Mark Henderson♦ Aug 25 '12 at 4:48

closed as off topic by Mark Henderson♦ Aug 25 '12 at 4:48

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5 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Berry,

I hope it isn't weird to ask this, but did you also look into Dynect? I work over at Dyn Inc., and people that usually look into UltraDNS usually talk with us as well. E-mail me rohara @ dyn [. ]com and we can explain our comparison of everyone in more detail with you based on feedback we've heard.

Overall..I'll say this briefly...there is a reason both companies exist...and a reason we're positioned where we are, and they are positioned where they are.

Hope to hear from you and anyone else that may need help.

Cheers,

Ryan

p.s. My apologies if this comes across as salesy...again I assure you, I just figured I can do my best to help.

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I'm a happy user of DynDNS's services and I can recommend that you at least talk to them before you decide. I've had no DNS outages since moving to them. – Cry Havok Jan 25 '11 at 22:27
I can also put my word behind Dyn Inc. (dyndns company), we were using UltraDNS at a quite expensive fee and we switched to Dyn Inc, it offers a better interface, better management of the available features and a very clear scalable price policy, I'm a happy customer! – lynxman Jan 25 '11 at 23:06
Me too. I've used DynDns for years with no issues. – joeqwerty Jan 25 '11 at 23:20
Dyn Inc are absolutely amazing guys. Support is phenomenal, the interface is FAST, nice, and usable (unlike UltraDNS), and you don't have to pay with your first born child for exceptional performance. – Avleen Jan 26 '11 at 4:52
Certainly going to check these guys thanks – Berry Tza Jan 26 '11 at 11:03
up vote 0 down vote

Have you considered using OpenDNS at all? Obviously I'm unaware of the scale of your environment, but I know they have options available for all sizes.

and I'm not a salesguy. :)

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Unless I am missing something, opendns.com doesn't seem to provide a hosting service, only a lookup service. – rjmunro Oct 20 '11 at 10:24
up vote 0 down vote

I've used both UltraDNS and DNSMadeEasy, although it has been years since I used UltraDNS. UltraDNS's service was great from a technical point of view - and I'm sure it has only gotten better - but we parted ways over a billing error of their making. (I'm sure they've got this issue sorted out by now, otherwise they'd be out of business.)

As you mention, UltraDNS has GeoDNS - although it's on DNSMadeEasy's road map (http://www.dnsmadeeasy.com/technology/roadmap.html), as well - and I suspect their anycast network may be larger than DNSMadeEasy's, but I don't know that for certain. I can't speak to how either would handle a DoS attack, but I suspect they're both quite familiar with mitigating them.

DNSMadeEasy comes in at a substantially lower price point, as you've noticed, and I've had no complaints about their service in the five or so years I've used them. The few times I've needed to contact support, their replies have been prompt and helpful.

Ultimately, I expect the difference in price reflects the market each is targeting. You probably won't go wrong choosing either - so why not choose both (or another pair of reputable DNS providers)? If you can make two providers work together to provide DNS for your site, you remove your DNS provider as a single point of failure.

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up vote 0 down vote

Berry - you are getting very popular! Not sure who your UltraDNS rep is, but I would look forward to reviewing your quote and answering any questions you have about UltraDNS and our position in the marketplace as well.

We believe an educated consumer is the best kind of consumer! Ryan (from Dyn) is right. We all have different reasons for being in the industry and all offer something different.

It's all about which solution best fits your needs. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Mark

Mark.Lender at Neustar . com

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up vote 0 down vote

Somewhere in between the two in cost is:

http://edgedirector.com

which offers both the failover and geodns capability.

Once you factor in free support and the pay as you go metering, it might even be the cheaper alternative.

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