Web requests must traverse a long and often convoluted path across the Internet to reach their destination. Along the way, traffic usually passes through several intermediaries such as New York-based NS1 Inc., which on Thursday announced the completion of a $20 million funding round led by GGV Capital.

The startup helps companies host the infrastructure they use to connect to the Domain Name System, the Internet’s version of a switchboard. It’s a global computer network responsible for matching the URLs that users enter into their browsers with the appropriate servers.

There are several distinguishing features that make NS1 stand out from other providers. The first is the ability to set up a fallback deployment in case its flagship managed DNS platform goes down. This arrangement enables companies to keep their services accessible even if the startup suffers an attack,  such as the one against rival Dyn Inc. that knocked large parts of the web offline in 2016.

Another core pillar of NS1’s value proposition is a service called Pulsar. The startup collects billions of measurements about web activity each day, identifies important patterns and then makes the results available via the tool’s visual interface. Companies can consult the information to optimize how they process different types of traffic.

Despite having a lower profile than Dyn and other competitors, NS1 has managed to build up an impressive customer base. The startup handles tens of billions of DNS queries a day for web giants such as Dropbox Inc., Salesforce.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp.’s LinkedIn.

In a blog post, GGV partner Glenn Solomon revealed that NS1 has tripled annual revenues over the past few years. The startup plans to spend the capital from the new round on fueling its sales momentum. Besides GGV, the investment saw the participation of Salesforce Ventures, Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners and several other returning backers.

NS1 has raised over $45 million in funding to date.

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