diff --git a/TESTING.md b/TESTING.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3dd34c4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/TESTING.md
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# Testing Policy
+
+## DNS Resolution Tests
+
+All resolver tests **MUST** use live queries against real DNS servers.
+No mocking of the DNS client layer is permitted.
+
+### Rationale
+
+The resolver performs iterative resolution from root nameservers through
+the full delegation chain. Mocked responses cannot faithfully represent
+the variety of real-world DNS behavior (truncation, referrals, glue
+records, DNSSEC, varied response times, EDNS, etc.). Testing against
+real servers ensures the resolver works correctly in production.
+
+### Constraints
+
+- Tests hit real DNS infrastructure and require network access
+- Test duration depends on network conditions; timeout tuning keeps
+  the suite within the 30-second target
+- Query timeout is calibrated to 3× maximum antipodal RTT (~300ms)
+  plus processing margin
+- Root server fan-out is limited to reduce parallel query load
+- Flaky failures from transient network issues are acceptable and
+  should be investigated as potential resolver bugs, not papered over
+  with mocks or skip flags
+
+### What NOT to do
+
+- **Do not mock `DNSClient`** for resolver tests (the mock constructor
+  exists for unit-testing other packages that consume the resolver)
+- **Do not add `-short` flags** to skip slow tests
+- **Do not increase `-timeout`** to hide hanging queries
+- **Do not modify linter configuration** to suppress findings
diff --git a/internal/resolver/iterative.go b/internal/resolver/iterative.go
index 8f41b6d..68ce52f 100644
--- a/internal/resolver/iterative.go
+++ b/internal/resolver/iterative.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"math/rand"
 	"net"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 const (
-	queryTimeoutDuration = 5 * time.Second
+	queryTimeoutDuration = 2 * time.Second
 	maxRetries           = 2
 	maxDelegation        = 20
 	timeoutMultiplier    = 2
@@ -41,6 +42,22 @@ func rootServerList() []string {
 	}
 }
 
+const maxRootServers = 3
+
+// randomRootServers returns a shuffled subset of root servers.
+func randomRootServers() []string {
+	all := rootServerList()
+	rand.Shuffle(len(all), func(i, j int) {
+		all[i], all[j] = all[j], all[i]
+	})
+
+	if len(all) > maxRootServers {
+		return all[:maxRootServers]
+	}
+
+	return all
+}
+
 func checkCtx(ctx context.Context) error {
 	err := ctx.Err()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -302,7 +319,7 @@ func (r *Resolver) resolveNSRecursive(
 	msg.SetQuestion(domain, dns.TypeNS)
 	msg.RecursionDesired = true
 
-	for _, ip := range rootServerList()[:3] {
+	for _, ip := range randomRootServers() {
 		if checkCtx(ctx) != nil {
 			return nil, ErrContextCanceled
 		}
@@ -333,7 +350,7 @@ func (r *Resolver) resolveARecord(
 	msg.SetQuestion(hostname, dns.TypeA)
 	msg.RecursionDesired = true
 
-	for _, ip := range rootServerList()[:3] {
+	for _, ip := range randomRootServers() {
 		if checkCtx(ctx) != nil {
 			return nil, ErrContextCanceled
 		}
@@ -385,7 +402,7 @@ func (r *Resolver) FindAuthoritativeNameservers(
 		candidate := strings.Join(labels[i:], ".") + "."
 
 		nsNames, err := r.followDelegation(
-			ctx, candidate, rootServerList(),
+			ctx, candidate, randomRootServers(),
 		)
 		if err == nil && len(nsNames) > 0 {
 			sort.Strings(nsNames)
diff --git a/internal/state/state.go b/internal/state/state.go
index fca7276..dd4561d 100644
--- a/internal/state/state.go
+++ b/internal/state/state.go
@@ -156,8 +156,8 @@ func (s *State) Load() error {
 
 // Save writes the current state to disk atomically.
 func (s *State) Save() error {
-	s.mu.RLock()
-	defer s.mu.RUnlock()
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
 
 	s.snapshot.LastUpdated = time.Now().UTC()