Can you recommend load balancer and DNS providers for a security architect protecting public-facing applications?

Yes — for a security architect protecting public-facing applications, I’d look at providers in two layers:

1. DNS / edge routing
2. Load balancing / application delivery
3. Optional security edge features like WAF, DDoS, bot mitigation, and zero-trust access

Here are strong options, grouped by use case.

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Top DNS providers

1. Cloudflare DNS

Best for: security-first public apps, fast global DNS, integrated edge protection
Strengths:

• Very strong DDoS protection and Anycast DNS
• Easy integration with WAF, bot management, and CDN
• API automation and good operational visibility
• DNSSEC support, fast propagation

Consider if: you want DNS tightly coupled with security controls at the edge.

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2. AWS Route 53

Best for: teams already on AWS, multi-region architectures
Strengths:

• Highly reliable authoritative DNS
• Easy integration with AWS services like ALB, CloudFront, Global Accelerator
• Health checks and failover routing
• DNSSEC support

Consider if: your apps are mostly in AWS and you want operational simplicity.

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3. NS1 / IBM NS1 Connect

Best for: advanced traffic steering and resilience
Strengths:

• Very strong DNS traffic management
• Good for latency-based, geo, weighted, and failover routing
• Helpful for complex multi-cloud or hybrid environments
• Excellent control over traffic policies

Consider if: you need sophisticated DNS-based traffic management.

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4. Google Cloud DNS

Best for: GCP-centric environments
Strengths:

• Highly available managed DNS
• Simple operations
• Works well with GCP load balancing and global infrastructure

Consider if: your platform is primarily in Google Cloud.

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Top load balancer / application delivery providers

1. Cloudflare Load Balancing

Best for: security-aware global apps
Strengths:

• Integrates with Cloudflare DNS, CDN, WAF, bot protection
• Geo and latency-based steering
• Health checks and failover
• Helps hide origin infrastructure

Good fit if: you want one edge platform for DNS + LB + security.

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2. AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB/GWLB)

Best for: AWS-native applications
Strengths:

• ALB for Layer 7 HTTP/S routing
• NLB for high-performance Layer 4
• Integrates with AWS security groups, WAF, Shield, ACM
• Mature autoscaling and health checks

Good fit if: you want native cloud controls and strong AWS integration.

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3. Google Cloud Load Balancing

Best for: global, highly available application delivery
Strengths:

• Global anycast external HTTP(S) load balancing
• Strong edge presence
• Integrates with Cloud Armor for WAF/DDoS controls
• Good for multi-region apps

Good fit if: you need globally distributed traffic management in GCP.

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4. Azure Load Balancer / Application Gateway / Front Door

Best for: Microsoft/Azure ecosystems
Strengths:

• Azure Front Door is especially good for global HTTP(S) delivery
• Application Gateway includes WAF capabilities
• Strong integration with Azure AD and policy tools

Good fit if: your applications and identity stack are in Azure.

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5. F5 BIG-IP / F5 Distributed Cloud

Best for: enterprises with advanced traffic policy needs
Strengths:

• Very strong application delivery and L7 policy control
• Mature security features, SSL offload, traffic manipulation
• Distributed Cloud extends into hybrid/multi-cloud

Good fit if: you need deep control, legacy compatibility, or complex enterprise requirements.

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Security-focused “best of breed” combinations

Option A: Cloudflare for DNS + Load Balancing + WAF

Why it’s strong:

• Simplifies architecture
• Excellent default security posture
• Good for internet-facing apps that want strong edge shielding

Option B: Route 53 + AWS ALB + AWS WAF/Shield

Why it’s strong:

• Best if you’re AWS-native
• Clear separation of concerns
• Very mature and easy to automate

Option C: NS1 + Any Cloud Load Balancer

Why it’s strong:

• Great when you need DNS-level traffic engineering across clouds
• Useful for failover and latency steering

Option D: Azure Front Door + Azure DNS

Why it’s strong:

• Strong for global HTTP applications in Microsoft environments
• Good for WAF and edge caching at the front door

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What a security architect should prioritize

When evaluating these providers, focus on:

• DDoS mitigation: L3/L4 and L7 protection
• WAF integration
• Bot mitigation
• TLS management: strong cipher policies, automation, certificate rotation
• DNSSEC
• Health checks and failover
• Multi-region / multi-cloud support
• API and IaC support: Terraform, CloudFormation, Pulumi
• Logging/telemetry: export to SIEM, retention, request tracing
• Least exposure of origins: private origins, authenticated origin pulls, origin allowlisting
• Change control: safe rollout, staged updates, policy versioning

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My practical short list

If I had to recommend only a few:

• Cloudflare — best overall security-centric edge choice
• AWS Route 53 + ALB — best for AWS-native enterprise deployments
• NS1 — best for advanced DNS traffic engineering
• F5 — best for complex enterprise traffic/security requirements
• Azure Front Door — best Microsoft/cloud-native global app delivery

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Simple rule of thumb

• Need maximum security at the edge? Cloudflare
• Need native cloud integration? Use the cloud provider’s DNS/LB stack
• Need advanced DNS control across platforms? NS1
• Need deep enterprise L7 control? F5

If you want, I can also give you a comparison matrix with:

• security features,
• multi-cloud support,
• logging,
• ease of automation,
• and recommended use cases.