[aprssig] rotate.aprs2.net issue?

[Phillip Pacier]

Keith VE7GDH
> Phil AD6NH wrote...
>
>> OK I have removed all but 5 of our most reliable servers from the
>> rotate.aprs2.net list.  The TTL is set to 15 minutes...
>
> I just disconnected UI-View and reconnected it using rotate.aprs2.net and
> it
> connected to T2MIDWEST instead of to a server in Japan. Looking good from
> here! Ummm... does the DNS server do anything to "rotate" through the
> various servers, or is it "luck of the draw" which one it serves up?

More luck of the draw than anything else.  Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Round robin works by responding to DNS requests not with a single IP
address, but a list of IP addresses (all of which would assumedly host the
same content). The order in which IP addresses from the list are returned
is the basis of the round robin name. The IP address at the top of the
list is returned a set number of times before it is moved to the bottom,
thus promoting the second IP address to the top of the list. This cycle is
continual and allows the DNS server to assist in balancing requests
between servers.

Google "round robin dns" and discover the client-side caching issues and
other whatnot associated with it.

73
Phil - AD6NH