  The Domain Name System (DNS) is one of the most important components of the
Internet infrastructure. DNS relies on a delegation-based architecture, where
resolution of names to their IP addresses requires resolving the names of the
servers responsible for those names. The recursive structures of the inter
dependencies that exist between name servers associated with each zone are
called dependency graphs. System administrators' operational decisions have far
reaching effects on the DNSs qualities. They need to be soundly made to create
a balance between the availability, security and resilience of the system. We
utilize dependency graphs to identify, detect and catalogue operational bad
smells. Our method deals with smells on a high-level of abstraction using a
consistent taxonomy and reusable vocabulary, defined by a DNS Operational
Model. The method will be used to build a diagnostic advisory tool that will
detect configuration changes that might decrease the robustness or security
posture of domain names before they become into production.
