How a single IP address can simultaneously live on hundreds of machines across the globe — and why that’s one of the internet’s most elegant tricks.
The Problem Anycast Solves
Imagine you’re in Tokyo, trying to reach a DNS server located in New York. Every query you make travels across the Pacific Ocean, endures 150+ milliseconds of latency, and returns the same way. For a single request, that’s tolerable. For millions of users doing it constantly, it’s a serious bottleneck.
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