Re: Beyond China's independent root-servers -- Expanding and Fixing Domain Notation

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Stephane Bortzmeyer wrote:

There is nothing to do for the IETF or the "Internet technical
community" (whatever it is). The problem is 100 % political and should
be addressed in ICANN / WSIS / IGF / whatever but not in the IETF.

Good Lord - your spewing the crapola far and wide today. Like I told you in the governance conference. Protocols are not political. Least you forget what I told you in the governance - here is my message to you ----- enjoy it - again.

Stephane Bortzmeyer wrote:

There are two different sorts of political problems on the
Internet. Those where a central governance is *mandatory* or things
simply stop to work. DNS root management and IP address allocation are
Where do you come up with this trash. You either do not understand the issues or your playing games. Technical protocols are not political. Technical protocols can not be mandated or their administration made mandatory. I can see it now - protocol police everywhere.

You can't mandate this - and you can't politicize it. This whole issue is about names and numbers. And how do we manage names and numbers? Answer - we use a database.

The only thing you require is a few simple rules to avoid conflicts - and those rules have been written - I give you RFC 1591. All one needs to do is translate this from domains to TLDs. Enjoy the light reading.

Network Working Group                                          J. Postel
Request for Comments: 1591                                           ISI
Category: Informational                                       March 1994


            Domain Name System Structure and Delegation


Status of this Memo

 This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo
 does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of
 this memo is unlimited.

1. Introduction

 This memo provides some information on the structure of the names in
 the Domain Name System (DNS), specifically the top-level domain
 names; and on the administration of domains.  The Internet Assigned
 Numbers Authority (IANA) is the overall authority for the IP
 Addresses, the Domain Names, and many other parameters, used in the
 Internet.  The day-to-day responsibility for the assignment of IP
 Addresses, Autonomous System Numbers, and most top and second level
 Domain Names are handled by the Internet Registry (IR) and regional
 registries.

2.  The Top Level Structure of the Domain Names

 In the Domain Name System (DNS) naming of computers there is a
 hierarchy of names.  The root of system is unnamed.  There are a set
 of what are called "top-level domain names" (TLDs).  These are the
 generic TLDs (EDU, COM, NET, ORG, GOV, MIL, and INT), and the two
 letter country codes from ISO-3166.  It is extremely unlikely that
 any other TLDs will be created.

 Under each TLD may be created a hierarchy of names.  Generally, under
 the generic TLDs the structure is very flat.  That is, many
 organizations are registered directly under the TLD, and any further
 structure is up to the individual organizations.

 In the country TLDs, there is a wide variation in the structure, in
 some countries the structure is very flat, in others there is
 substantial structural organization.  In some country domains the
 second levels are generic categories (such as, AC, CO, GO, and RE),
 in others they are based on political geography, and in still others,
 organization names are listed directly under the country code.  The
 organization for the US country domain is described in RFC 1480 [1].




Postel                                                          [Page 1]

RFC 1591      Domain Name System Structure and Delegation     March 1994


 Each of the generic TLDs was created for a general category of
 organizations.  The country code domains (for example, FR, NL, KR,
 US) are each organized by an administrator for that country.  These
 administrators may further delegate the management of portions of the
 naming tree.  These administrators are performing a public service on
 behalf of the Internet community.  Descriptions of the generic
 domains and the US country domain follow.

 Of these generic domains, five are international in nature, and two
 are restricted to use by entities in the United States.

 World Wide Generic Domains:

 COM - This domain is intended for commercial entities, that is
       companies.  This domain has grown very large and there is
       concern about the administrative load and system performance if
       the current growth pattern is continued.  Consideration is
       being taken to subdivide the COM domain and only allow future
       commercial registrations in the subdomains.

 EDU - This domain was originally intended for all educational
       institutions.  Many Universities, colleges, schools,
       educational service organizations, and educational consortia
       have registered here.  More recently a decision has been taken
       to limit further registrations to 4 year colleges and
       universities.  Schools and 2-year colleges will be registered
       in the country domains (see US Domain, especially K12 and CC,
       below).

 NET - This domain is intended to hold only the computers of network
       providers, that is the NIC and NOC computers, the
       administrative computers, and the network node computers.  The
       customers of the network provider would have domain names of
       their own (not in the NET TLD).

 ORG - This domain is intended as the miscellaneous TLD for
       organizations that didn't fit anywhere else.  Some non-
       government organizations may fit here.

 INT - This domain is for organizations established by international
       treaties, or international databases.

 United States Only Generic Domains:

 GOV - This domain was originally intended for any kind of government
       office or agency.  More recently a decision was taken to
       register only agencies of the US Federal government in this
       domain.  State and local agencies are registered in the country



Postel                                                          [Page 2]

RFC 1591      Domain Name System Structure and Delegation     March 1994


       domains (see US Domain, below).

 MIL - This domain is used by the US military.

 Example country code Domain:

 US - As an example of a country domain, the US domain provides for
      the registration of all kinds of entities in the United States
      on the basis of political geography, that is, a hierarchy of
      <entity-name>.<locality>.<state-code>.US.  For example,
      "IBM.Armonk.NY.US".  In addition, branches of the US domain are
      provided within each state for schools (K12), community colleges
      (CC), technical schools (TEC), state government agencies
      (STATE), councils of governments (COG),libraries (LIB), museums
      (MUS), and several other generic types of entities (see RFC 1480
      for details [1]).

 To find a contact for a TLD use the "whois" program to access the
 database on the host rs.internic.net.  Append "-dom" to the name of
 TLD you are interested in.  For example:

                     whois -h rs.internic.net us-dom
    or
                     whois -h rs.internic.net edu-dom

3.  The Administration of Delegated Domains

 The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is responsible for the
 overall coordination and management of the Domain Name System (DNS),
 and especially the delegation of portions of the name space called
 top-level domains.  Most of these top-level domains are two-letter
 country codes taken from the ISO standard 3166.

 A central Internet Registry (IR) has been selected and designated to
 handled the bulk of the day-to-day administration of the Domain Name
 System.  Applications for new top-level domains (for example, country
 code domains) are handled by the IR with consultation with the IANA.
 The central IR is INTERNIC.NET.  Second level domains in COM, EDU,
 ORG, NET, and GOV are registered by the Internet Registry at the
 InterNIC.  The second level domains in the MIL are registered by the
 DDN registry at NIC.DDN.MIL.  Second level names in INT are
 registered by the PVM at ISI.EDU.

 While all requests for new top-level domains must be sent to the
 Internic (at hostmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxx), the regional registries are
 often enlisted to assist in the administration of the DNS, especially
 in solving problems with a country administration.  Currently, the
 RIPE NCC is the regional registry for Europe and the APNIC is the



Postel                                                          [Page 3]

RFC 1591      Domain Name System Structure and Delegation     March 1994


 regional registry for the Asia-Pacific region, while the INTERNIC
 administers the North America region, and all the as yet undelegated
 regions.

    The contact mailboxes for these regional registries are:

       INTERNIC        hostmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxx
       APNIC           hostmaster@xxxxxxxxx
       RIPE NCC        ncc@xxxxxxxx

 The policy concerns involved when a new top-level domain is
 established are described in the following.  Also mentioned are
 concerns raised when it is necessary to change the delegation of an
 established domain from one party to another.

 A new top-level domain is usually created and its management
 delegated to a "designated manager" all at once.

 Most of these same concerns are relevant when a sub-domain is
 delegated and in general the principles described here apply
 recursively to all delegations of the Internet DNS name space.

 The major concern in selecting a designated manager for a domain is
 that it be able to carry out the necessary responsibilities, and have
 the ability to do a equitable, just, honest, and competent job.

 1) The key requirement is that for each domain there be a designated
    manager for supervising that domain's name space.  In the case of
    top-level domains that are country codes this means that there is
    a manager that supervises the domain names and operates the domain
    name system in that country.

    The manager must, of course, be on the Internet.  There must be
    Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity to the nameservers and email
    connectivity to the management and staff of the manager.

    There must be an administrative contact and a technical contact
    for each domain.  For top-level domains that are country codes at
    least the administrative contact must reside in the country
    involved.

 2) These designated authorities are trustees for the delegated
    domain, and have a duty to serve the community.

    The designated manager is the trustee of the top-level domain for
    both the nation, in the case of a country code, and the global
    Internet community.




Postel                                                          [Page 4]

RFC 1591      Domain Name System Structure and Delegation     March 1994


    Concerns about "rights" and "ownership" of domains are
    inappropriate.  It is appropriate to be concerned about
    "responsibilities" and "service" to the community.

 3) The designated manager must be equitable to all groups in the
    domain that request domain names.

    This means that the same rules are applied to all requests, all
    requests must be processed in a non-discriminatory fashion, and
    academic and commercial (and other) users are treated on an equal
    basis.  No bias shall be shown regarding requests that may come
    from customers of some other business related to the manager --
    e.g., no preferential service for customers of a particular data
    network provider.  There can be no requirement that a particular
    mail system (or other application), protocol, or product be used.

    There are no requirements on subdomains of top-level domains
    beyond the requirements on higher-level domains themselves.  That
    is, the requirements in this memo are applied recursively.  In
    particular, all subdomains shall be allowed to operate their own
    domain name servers, providing in them whatever information the
    subdomain manager sees fit (as long as it is true and correct).

 4) Significantly interested parties in the domain should agree that
    the designated manager is the appropriate party.

    The IANA tries to have any contending parties reach agreement
    among themselves, and generally takes no action to change things
    unless all the contending parties agree; only in cases where the
    designated manager has substantially mis-behaved would the IANA
    step in.

    However, it is also appropriate for interested parties to have
    some voice in selecting the designated manager.

    There are two cases where the IANA and the central IR may
    establish a new top-level domain and delegate only a portion of
    it: (1) there are contending parties that cannot agree, or (2) the
    applying party may not be able to represent or serve the whole
    country.  The later case sometimes arises when a party outside a
    country is trying to be helpful in getting networking started in a
    country -- this is sometimes called a "proxy" DNS service.

    The Internet DNS Names Review Board (IDNB), a committee
    established by the IANA, will act as a review panel for cases in
    which the parties can not reach agreement among themselves.  The
    IDNB's decisions will be binding.




Postel                                                          [Page 5]

RFC 1591      Domain Name System Structure and Delegation     March 1994


 5) The designated manager must do a satisfactory job of operating the
    DNS service for the domain.

    That is, the actual management of the assigning of domain names,
    delegating subdomains and operating nameservers must be done with
    technical competence.  This includes keeping the central IR (in
    the case of top-level domains) or other higher-level domain
    manager advised of the status of the domain, responding to
    requests in a timely manner, and operating the database with
    accuracy, robustness, and resilience.

    There must be a primary and a secondary nameserver that have IP
    connectivity to the Internet and can be easily checked for
    operational status and database accuracy by the IR and the IANA.

    In cases when there are persistent problems with the proper
    operation of a domain, the delegation may be revoked, and possibly
    delegated to another designated manager.

 6) For any transfer of the designated manager trusteeship from one
    organization to another, the higher-level domain manager (the IANA
    in the case of top-level domains) must receive communications from
    both the old organization and the new organization that assure the
    IANA that the transfer in mutually agreed, and that the new
    organization understands its responsibilities.

    It is also very helpful for the IANA to receive communications
    from other parties that may be concerned or affected by the
    transfer.

4. Rights to Names

 1) Names and Trademarks

    In case of a dispute between domain name registrants as to the
    rights to a particular name, the registration authority shall have
    no role or responsibility other than to provide the contact
    information to both parties.

    The registration of a domain name does not have any Trademark
    status.  It is up to the requestor to be sure he is not violating
    anyone else's Trademark.

 2) Country Codes

    The IANA is not in the business of deciding what is and what is
    not a country.




Postel                                                          [Page 6]

RFC 1591      Domain Name System Structure and Delegation     March 1994


    The selection of the ISO 3166 list as a basis for country code
    top-level domain names was made with the knowledge that ISO has a
    procedure for determining which entities should be and should not
    be on that list.

5. Security Considerations

 Security issues are not discussed in this memo.

6. Acknowledgements

 Many people have made comments on draft version of these descriptions
 and procedures.  Steve Goldstein and John Klensin have been
 particularly helpful.

7. Author's Address

 Jon Postel
 USC/Information Sciences Institute
 4676 Admiralty Way
 Marina del Rey, CA  90292

 Phone: 310-822-1511
 Fax:   310-823-6714
 EMail: Postel@xxxxxxx

7. References

 [1] Cooper, A., and J. Postel, "The US Domain", RFC 1480,
     USC/Information Sciences Institute, June 1993.

 [2] Reynolds, J., and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", STD 2, RFC 1340,
     USC/Information Sciences Institute, July 1992.

 [3] Mockapetris, P., "Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities", STD
     13, RFC 1034, USC/Information Sciences Institute, November 1987.

 [4] Mockapetris, P., "Domain Names - Implementation and
     Specification", STD 13, RFC 1035, USC/Information Sciences
     Institute, November 1987.

 [6] Partridge, C., "Mail Routing and the Domain System", STD 14, RFC
     974, CSNET CIC BBN, January 1986.

 [7] Braden, R., Editor, "Requirements for Internet Hosts --
     Application and Support", STD 3, RFC 1123, Internet Engineering
     Task Force, October 1989.




Postel                                                          [Page 7]







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