On October 31, 2000, PowerDNS.com B.V. was registered by our founder, former long-time colleague, and still dear friend Bert Hubert. A lot has happened since then. We’ve grown into a global company with engineering, product, technical consulting, project delivery, support, sales, and marketing teams around the world. In large part this is thanks to our merger with Open-Xchange in 2015, which accelerated this journey by adding expertise in many additional areas essential to a successful company.
As we grew, we expanded our portfolio into Enterprise DNS, Protective DNS, DNS-based security, and more. Thanks to this, we are proud to be recognized as an innovative leader in encrypted and cloud-native DNS and beyond. Today, PowerDNS solutions host more than 14 million domains and power the internet for more than 400 million subscribers – and these numbers only reflect the use of our commercial solutions.
Given this successful journey and the position we enjoy today at the forefront of innovation in DNS, we had every reason to celebrate the 25th anniversary of PowerDNS. On November 18, we gathered with customers, partners, industry experts, and colleagues at the beautiful Kunstmuseum in The Hague. From the first morning coffee to the final conversations around midnight, the event was filled with inspiring stories, historical (Power)DNS insights, technical deep dives, and forward-looking discussions. We could not be happier with how it turned out. Here’s a brief recap:
(Please note that we had planned to share video recordings of the sessions, but due to a technical issue we only have audio. We can safely say this wasn’t due to DNS. So please bear with us for this short text-only summary.)
The day guided us through the past, present, and future of both PowerDNS and the broader world of DNS. We began by reflecting on where PowerDNS stands today before taking a nostalgic and insightful look back with founder Bert Hubert. Bert shared stories of founding the company during the dot-com bust, building DNS software long before “cloud-native” was a concept, and why he is proud that PowerDNS is now a leader in cloud-native DNS – even though he was opposed to the idea for a long time.
Open-Xchange CEO Andreas Gauger spoke about the ten-year PowerDNS journey within Open-Xchange (another anniversary!), and why the merger was so remarkably successful: both companies shared the same vision and mission, making collaboration seamless from day one.
We then turned to the current state of DNS. Vittorio Bertola presented findings from an ICANN study on the role of open-source software in DNS. As expected, many DNS solutions rely heavily on open-source components, making open-source software essential to the DNS ecosystem.
We were also honored to welcome internet pioneer and Hall of Famer Paul Vixie. His session, “It’s always DNS,” delivered both humor and deep technical insights into why downtimes are rarely caused by core DNS systems – yet DNS always plays a role. The Q&A session led to fascinating historical RFC discussions, including spontaneous exchanges between Bert and Paul.
The afternoon focused on the practical use of PowerDNS solutions. Neil Cook and Andrea Carpani showcased the next wave of PowerDNS technologies, including a demo of our Single Pane of Glass interface (currently in beta) for monitoring and orchestrating cloud-native DNS through PowerDNS Cloud Control, as well as a prototype app enabling operators to provide malware protection to subscribers with a single tap. PowerDNS engineers Otto Moerbeek and Pieter Lexis followed with a deep dive into DNS tracing, demonstrating how to identify and analyze unusual DNS query response times.
The final sessions featured contributions from our customers and partners. We gained valuable first-hand insights into one of the world’s largest cloud-native PowerDNS installations and the advantages of security solutions and modern protection mechanisms built on PowerDNS. The program concluded with a panel discussion featuring experts from customers and partners, exploring the state of DNS today and tomorrow. Hearing about the current DNS challenges from operators, DDI vendors, enterprises, and security companies was incredibly valuable – complemented by Paul Vixie’s perspective.
The energy and engagement throughout the entire day clearly highlighted how vital DNS remains in our evolving digital world. After the closing remarks, guests enjoyed an exclusive guided tour through the Kunstmuseum, followed by dinner and drinks until closing time at midnight. It was the perfect end to an inspiring day – one that reminded us that we are more than “just a supplier.” We collaborate with our customers as partners, working together toward shared success.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this anniversary so special. Your support, collaboration, and curiosity have shaped what PowerDNS is today. It may be too early to reserve your calendars for the 50th anniversary, but we are already looking forward to the next chapter of PowerDNS – and to shaping the future of DNS together with you.
A special thank-you also goes to our PowerDNS community friends. You have played a vital role in the evolution of our open-source products for more than two decades. You contribute code, report issues, test new ideas, challenge us, and, just like PowerDNS itself, champion an open and secure internet.
Here´s to the next 25 years!
