A computer-implemented method, in a content delivery (CD) network. The method includes: receiving a request regarding a first hostname including at least one tag and an encoding of the at least one address; removing the tag and the encoding of the address to form a second hostname; resolving the second hostname to obtain a set of one or more addresses, wherein the set does not include the at least one address; and returning the address set. On a client, the method includes: making a request for resolution of a first hostname; receiving one or more addresses; attempting to connect to at least one of the addresses; generating a modified hostname including at least one tag and an encoding of the at least one address; and requesting resolution of the modified hostname.