Cloudflare cuts DNS build memory use by 85% with targeted updates

Cloudflare says changes to its DNS processing cut Zone Builder server memory usage by 85% and reduced median build time from 7.7 seconds to 3.3 seconds, Tom's Hardware reported. The service processes 800 zone changes per second, up from 250 four years ago. Engineers added reasons to change events so the system can rebuild only the affected portions of a domain's records and settings. Large domains now update in pieces. A combined scheduler groups changes for the same domain and lets smaller jobs proceed while slow builds run. The changes reduce resources needed to distribute domain updates across Cloudflare's DNS fleet. Full builds remain necessary when no partial build mechanism exists.