The 32-bit DNS Mirrored Registries[1] help to provide more reliability and immunity from a single-point-of-corporate-failure. The .ORG TLD will soon be operating with a "Mirrored Registry" arrangement. It does not appear that IETF.ORG was consulted on those arrangements. The new 128-bit DNS software is designed to fail-over between two (or three) Mirrored Registries, which each of course have multiple servers in their redundant cluster. Most TLDs can probably survive with only two Mirrored Registries. People have to make sure their nameservers are registered in BOTH of the Mirrored Registries, especially with various root-server operators pointing at one or the other Mirrored Registry depending on their operational status. An SLD.TLD owner will want to make sure that all paths lead to their servers where they then manage their zone. .COM will need a Mirrored Registry so that all the .COM owners can pay for more reliability. The leading edge TLDs[2] already have Mirrored Registries. [1] (http://www.icann.org/tlds/org/gartner-evaluation-report-19aug02.pdf) >Gartner had a difficult time determining the extent of GNR's experience. >GNR claims (source location in parenthesis) > >(C18.6) - "3. A registry (partly outsourced) connected to all ICANNaccredited >registrars through the EPP protocol." > >(C18.6) - "Global Name Registry has transferred a part of the .name >Registry function to VeriSign under an agreement to operate part of the >.name TLD, at the same time as Global Name Registry maintains and >operates a mirrored Registry in the United Kingdom. Global Name Registry >and VeriSign therefore run similar and redundant services on each side of >the Atlantic and have thereby created the world's first inter-continental >registry. > >Gartner wonders if, as a result of a combination of responses and >specifically the use of the term "mirrored Registry", the Primary SRS data >center for the .name gTLD is actually currently operated by VeriSign and >that GNR is responsible only for the operations of the backup SRS >datacenter. We found several statements that were difficult to interpret >resulting in an inability to firmly establish the actual responsibilities for >operating the .name SRS datacenters. [2] http://vuesoft.net/zonexchange/rsc/AIRS.txt ; The following 107 TLDs have multiple entries : ; 3d. = 2 ; art. = 2 ; arts. = 3 ; auction. = 3 ; aus. = 2 ; band. = 2 ; bank. = 2 ; bar. = 2 ; bel. = 2 ; biz. = 2 ; book. = 2 ; books. = 2 ; box. = 2 ; brand. = 2 ; business. = 2 ; cam. = 2 ; cars. = 2 ; casino. = 2 ; chat. = 3 ; church. = 2 ; city. = 2 ; club. = 3 ; cool. = 2 ; corp. = 2 ; data. = 2 ; dir. = 2 ; etc. = 2 ; family. = 3 ; faq. = 2 ; fax. = 2 ; film. = 3 ; food. = 2 ; free. = 2 ; fund. = 2 ; gallery. = 2 ; game. = 2 ; gay. = 2 ; gbr. = 2 ; geek. = 2 ; ger. = 2 ; global. = 2 ; gmbh. = 2 ; golf. = 3 ; help. = 2 ; home. = 2 ; hotel. = 2 ; inc. = 3 ; info. = 3 ; inn. = 2 ; irc. = 2 ; jobs. = 2 ; kids. = 2 ; lab. = 2 ; law. = 2 ; linux. = 2 ; list. = 2 ; lit. = 2 ; llc. = 3 ; llp. = 2 ; love. = 2 ; ltd. = 3 ; mad. = 2 ; mag. = 2 ; mail. = 2 ; med. = 4 ; media. = 2 ; men. = 2 ; moon. = 2 ; movie. = 2 ; mp3. = 3 ; music. = 3 ; news. = 3 ; ngo. = 2 ; nic. = 2 ; not. = 2 ; null. = 2 ; ocean. = 2 ; online. = 2 ; play. = 2 ; porn. = 2 ; post. = 2 ; pub. = 2 ; radio. = 2 ; school. = 2 ; scifi. = 3 ; secure. = 2 ; sex. = 2 ; sheesh. = 2 ; shop. = 3 ; site. = 2 ; sport. = 2 ; star. = 2 ; store. = 2 ; sucks. = 2 ; tech. = 2 ; tel. = 2 ; travel. = 2 ; unix. = 2 ; usa. = 2 ; video. = 3 ; web. = 2 ; wine. = 3 ; women. = 2 ; world. = 2 ; xxx. = 3 ; zine. = 2 ; zone. = 2 ======================== Jim Fleming 2002:[IPv4]:000X:03DB:...IPv8 is closer than you think... http://www.ican.org/what's_new!!!.htm http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv4-address-space http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/130dftmail/unir.txt 0:190 ORG