Overview

Vercara (formerly Neustar's security solutions division, home of the UltraDNS brand), founded in 1999 and headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia, is a leading enterprise cloud security and DNS infrastructure provider. In 2023 Neustar spun off its security business (UltraDNS, DDoS protection, CDN, WAF) as Vercara, focused on integrated CDN acceleration and cybersecurity.

Vercara's global Anycast network covers North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America, serving many Fortune 500 companies. Its flagship UltraDNS is among the best-known enterprise managed DNS services, renowned for high availability and DNSSEC support. Against the rising global cybersecurity threat landscape, Vercara deeply integrates DNS security, CDN security, and large-scale DDoS mitigation into a "security + acceleration" solution.

Key Strengths

  • UltraDNS enterprise managed DNS: Industry-benchmark managed DNS with global Anycast millisecond resolution, 99.999%+ SLA, DNSSEC, DNS traffic analytics, and GeoDNS routing for teams needing high DNS reliability.
  • Large-scale DDoS protection: Multi-Tbps scrubbing against L3/L4 and L7 vectors (UDP/SYN Flood to HTTP/S Slowloris); pair with DDoS-protected servers for layered defense.
  • Unified CDN + security: CDN nodes co-located with DDoS scrubbing and WAF engines make delivery paths naturally secure without origin detours—ideal for finance, government, and e-commerce.
  • Enterprise WAF: OWASP Top 10, custom rule engine, rate limiting, and Bot management; see WAF best practices.
  • Carrier-grade reliability: Tier 3+ data centers with carrier and IXP interconnection, carrier-grade SLA, and 24/7 dedicated support.

Product Ecosystem

UltraDNS Managed DNS

High-performance managed DNS: Anycast sub-second response, full DNSSEC against hijacking and cache poisoning, GeoDNS geo/latency routing, real-time DNS traffic analytics, and secondary DNS for cross-platform redundancy.

DDoS Protection

L3/L4 Tbps-scale scrubbing (UDP/TCP Flood, ICMP amplification), L7 behavioral and fingerprint detection, real-time alerts and detailed attack reports, with always-on and on-demand modes.

CDN Acceleration

Global edge caching of static content, dynamic smart routing and TCP optimization, SSL/TLS edge offload (see CDN SSL/TLS best practices), and flexible cache rules; standard features trail Cloudflare/Akamai but DNS-security integration is a unique edge.

WAF Security

OWASP Top 10 preset rules, custom rules by IP/Geo/Header/Cookie, source-based rate limiting against CC attacks, and Bot management for malicious crawlers.

Security Monitoring and Threat Intelligence

Domain security monitoring (hijacking, tampering, phishing), brand protection (lookalike domains and trademark infringement), and SSL certificate lifecycle management aligned with the website security checklist.

Limitations

  • Brand awareness rebuilding: Since the Neustar spin-off, awareness is climbing and some customers remain cautious about the rebrand.
  • CDN less feature-rich than specialized CDNs: Edge computing, streaming optimization, and real-time image processing trail Fastly and Cloudflare; see the CDN comparison for acceleration-first needs.
  • Enterprise-oriented pricing: No self-serve pricing page; sales quotes create higher barriers for SMBs; budget teams can check the CDN cost optimization guide.
  • Fewer nodes than hyperscale CDNs: Global node count is lower than Akamai (4100+) and Cloudflare (330+ cities).

Use Cases

  • DNS-security-first enterprises (★★★★★): UltraDNS + DDoS + CDN one-stop for finance, payment, and government with extreme DNS reliability requirements.
  • Global managed DNS selection (★★★★★): UltraDNS is the enterprise benchmark for multi-region deployment, GeoDNS routing, and DNSSEC validation.
  • High-traffic sites needing DDoS protection (★★★★): Multi-Tbps scrubbing for gaming, e-commerce, and media.
  • Enterprise compliance and brand protection (★★★★): Domain monitoring + brand protection + threat intel for brand-sensitive large groups.
  • Standard website acceleration (★★): For CDN-only needs, Cloudflare or Bunny CDN offer better value; see the CDN provider selection guide.

Pricing

Service Billing Notes
UltraDNS Managed DNS Per domain + queries Annual contracts common
DDoS Protection Per committed bandwidth + capacity Always-on vs on-demand
CDN Acceleration Per traffic + region Global or regional
WAF Security Per domain + rule sets Enterprise annual

Vercara uses custom enterprise quotes with no public price page; pricing varies by service mix, traffic, SLA, and deployment; contact sales.

FAQ

  • How to choose with Cloudflare and Akamai? Vercara differentiates on DNS DNA—UltraDNS and security integration; Cloudflare on free tier and Workers; Akamai on hyperscale nodes; see the CDN comparison.
  • What is UltraDNS's advantage? Industry-benchmark managed DNS with Anycast millisecond resolution, 99.999%+ SLA, full DNSSEC, GeoDNS, and secondary DNS; see the DNSSEC guide.
  • How capable is DDoS protection? Multi-Tbps scrubbing covering L3/L4 and L7 with always-on and on-demand modes; see the CDN security features guide.
  • Is there a free tier? No; custom enterprise quotes via sales; see the CDN cost optimization guide.
  • Is it suitable for small sites? Mostly for mid-to-large enterprises; standard acceleration suits Cloudflare or Bunny CDN.