# Prototyping carbon-aware domain name resolution

*2024-12-01 — note*


[Ryan Gibb](https://ryan.freumh.org) and I have been thinking about how the current Internet architecture fails to treat the carbon emissions
associated with networked services as a first-class metric. So when the [LOCO](https://locos.codeberg.page/loco2024/) conference came up, we tried extending the DNS with load balancing techniques to consider the carbon cost of scheduling decisions. A next step was then to build a custom [DNS server written in OCaml](https://github.com/RyanGibb/eon) to actively wake machines running networked services as a side effect of the name
resolution.

Extending DNS means that we maintain compatibility with existing Internet
infrastructure, unlocking the ability for existing applications to be
carbon-aware. This is very much a spiritual follow on to the
[Signposts](https://anil.recoil.org/papers/2013-foci-signposts) project that I worked on back in 2013, and
have always wanted to return to\!
Synopsis: Extending DNS with carbon-aware load balancing and OCaml-based DNS server for sustainable Internet infrastructure presented at LOCO.
Words: 125

## Related

- [Carbon-aware Name Resolution](https://anil.recoil.org/papers/2024-loco-carbonres) (paper, 2024-12-01)
- [Lost in the Edge: Finding Your Way with DNSSEC Signposts](https://anil.recoil.org/papers/2013-foci-signposts) (paper, 2013-08-01)

---
Canonical: https://anil.recoil.org/notes/2024-loco-carbonres-1
Type: note
Tags: selfhosting, dns, distributed, carbon, signpost, loco