Cloudflare Outage Sparks Questions Over Internet Computer’s DNS Dependence

Dom Williams has highlighted that recent outages at AWS and Cloudflare did not interrupt applications running fully on-chain through the Internet Computer. He framed the episode as an example of how services built directly on-chain can remain available even when major web infrastructure providers experience issues.

A user responding to his post noted that, during the Cloudflare disruption, some people were unable to reach Internet Computer applications through their usual URLs. They pointed out that the apps themselves remained operational, but access depended on a name service routed through Cloudflare. Direct access via canister IDs still worked, though that method is impractical for most users.

Williams acknowledged the point and said DNS continues to be a weak link. He added that he wants the Network Nervous System to eventually run its own name resolution service to remove reliance on third-party providers. Looking ahead, he also mentioned interest in securing a dedicated .icp top-level domain, arguing it would provide greater reliability and more control over how users reach on-chain applications.

The exchange reflects a technical concern rather than a dispute: the Internet Computer’s core functions remained active, but the outage highlighted how traditional DNS infrastructure can still affect user access. Developers and users will now be watching how the project approaches this area, particularly as it works to bring more of the web stack directly on-chain.