What is Route 53 simple routing?

Routing policies are the rules and algorithms that route traffic to different endpoints, such as IP addresses, AWS resources, or other domain names, based on various criteria. These routing policies provide flexibility and control over how traffic is distributed to different endpoints, allowing users to optimize the performance, availability, and cost-effectiveness of their applications and services hosted on AWS.

Route 53 offers several routing policies to allow users to implement sophisticated traffic routing strategies tailored to their specific requirements. Here, we will explore the simple routing policy.

Simple routing policy

Simple routing policy allows users to configure standard DNS records without additional routing logic. It is typically used to route traffic to a single resource, such as a web server for a website. This policy is easy to set up and suitable for basic configurations where all traffic is directed to the same resource. Configuring the simple routing policy involves creating a hosted zone, setting up a DNS record for the resource hosting the website, and specifying a TTL. However, it’s important to note that a simple routing policy does not support health checks on the resources.

Simple routing policy does not permit the creation of multiple records with the same name and type. However, users can specify multiple values, such as IP addresses, within the same record. In such cases, Route 53 returns a random value when queried. This aspect of the policy makes it easy to manage basic setups where a single resource serves as the destination for all incoming traffic.

The illustration below shows how simple routing works in Route 53:

In the illustration above, we have three users who are requesting for the xyz.com. Three endpoints correspond to the record, and the users are randomly redirected to an endpoint.

This policy is best suited for scenarios where a website or application is hosted on a single resource, and there is no need for advanced routing configurations or health checks. It provides simplicity and straightforwardness, making it ideal for users looking for a hassle-free DNS setup without the need for complex routing logic.