User expectations for speed and reliability are higher than ever. Whether you are delivering immersive gaming experiences, streaming high-definition media or powering a global SaaS platform, performance is everything.
IBM NS1 Connect’s Pulsar feature transforms your DNS into a dynamic, performance-aware traffic control plane - delivering faster, more resilient experiences – everywhere, every time.
Pulsar is IBM NS1 Connect’s sophisticated solution for Real User Monitoring (RUM) based traffic steering. Unlike traditional monitoring, which depends on synthetic or server-side probes, Pulsar collects real-time performance and availability data directly from actual users as they interact with your website or application.
This feature uses telemetry from real users that is fed back into the NS1 Connect platform to inform DNS routing decisions. Rather than relying on geographic proximity, Pulsar continuously measures performance (latency) and availability (success rate) to determine the optional endpoint – whether that is a CDN, web server, app server or application node.
By integrating this live data, Pulsar allows the DNS system to make routing decisions that are optimized for every single user, resulting in a type of dynamic, intelligent routing often referred to as RUM Steering.
This data is collected via lightweight JavaScript beacons or gRPC/HTTP integrations and fed into NS1 Connect’s decision engine to optimize every response in real time.
Pulsar transforms DNS from a static naming system into a performance aware control plane. It elevates your ability to deliver reliably fast performance – especially in multi-CDN or globally distributed environments. Key advantages include:
More accurate routing than geographic-based steering
Traditional routing assumes the closest server is the fastest. Focusing on geography does not account for real-time congestion, ISP routing quirks or regional peering issues. Pulsar knows better – by measuring actual latency and availability, it routes users to the best-performing endpoint.
Improves User Experience and Engagement
Faster endpoints lead to quicker page renders and interactions, which reduces bounce rates, improves conversions and strengthens trust signals – metrics important in both SEO and AI search contexts.
High Availability and Resilience
The real-time nature of RUM data means that service degradations or outages are detected almost instantly from the user’s perspective, even before traditional monitoring systems might flag an issue. The platform can then immediately steer traffic away from compromised endpoint and towards a healthy one, providing rapid automated failover that minimizes downtime and ensures continuity.
Optimized Multi-CDN Strategy
For businesses that utilize several service providers, Pulsar is the engine for effective Multi-CDN Steering, automatically sending users to the best performing Content Delivery Network (CDN) based on current network conditions. This maximises application speed and ROI.
Greater Visibility and Actionable Insights
Pulsar provides rich, granular data sets on your DNS and network behaviour. Pulsar dashboards and reports let you visualize how traffic is being distributed, performance trends by region or ASN, insufficiencies, decision paths and more.
To implement Pulsar, it must be activated on your account. It is available as an add-on to NS1 Connect Premium plans. Contact a member of our team to request a demo or add it to your plan.
Want to learn more on how to Master Multi-CDN and RUM driven performance with Pulsar? You can sign up to our next Webinar on Thursday, November 13. Reserve your spot now
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