Role of the Domain Name System (DNS)

Metadata

Publisher: IETF
Doc Type: Informational
Pages: 31
Abstract: This document reviews the original function and purpose of the domain name system (DNS). It contrasts that history with some of the purposes for which the DNS has recently been applied and some of the newer demands being placed upon it or suggested for it. A framework for an alternative to placing these additional stresses on the DNS is then outlined. This document and that framework are not a proposed solution, only a strong suggestion that the time has come to begin thinking more broadly about the problems we are encountering and possible approaches to solving them. This memo provides information for the Internet community.
Publication Date: 2003-03-01
Status Note: Informational
DOI: 10.17487/RFC3467
Link: https://doi.org/10.17487/RFC3467
Author(s): Dr. John C. Klensin
Keyword(s): History, Internationalization, Unicode, ASCII, Multilingual Names

Latest version of IETF RFC 3467

Document Versions — IETF RFC 3467

▶ IETF RFC 3467 (2003-03-01)

THIS DOC [ACTIVE] [LATEST VERSION]

Normative Reference(s)

INCITS.X3.4.1968 — 1 EXTERNAL
ISO 646:1991 [Active]
ISO.10646-2.2001 — IS10646 EXTERNAL
Size information supplied by Verisign Global Registry Services (the zone administrator, or "registry operator", for COM, see [ REGISTRAR ], below) to ICANN, third quarter 2002. EXTERNAL
The particular profile used for placing internationalized strings in the DNS is called "nameprep", described in Hoffman, P. and M. Blanchet, "Nameprep: A Stringprep Profile for Internationalized Domain Names", Work in Progress. EXTERNAL
Seng, J., et al., Eds., "Internationalized Domain Names: Registration and Administration Guideline for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean", Work in Progress. EXTERNAL
Klensin, J., "A Search-based access model for the DNS", Work in Progress. EXTERNAL
In an early stage of the process that created the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a "Green Paper" was released by the US Government. That paper introduced new terminology and some concepts not needed by traditional DNS operations. The term "registry" was applied to the actual operator and database holder of a domain (typically at the top level, since the Green Paper was little concerned with anything else), while organizations that marketed names and made them available to "registrants" were known as "registrars". In the classic DNS model, the function of "zone administrator" encompassed both registry and registrar roles, although that model did not anticipate a commercial market in names. EXTERNAL
The Multilingual Internet Names Consortium, http://www.minc.org/ has been an early advocate for the importance of expansion of DNS names to accommodate non-ASCII characters. Some of their specific proposals, while helping people to understand the problems better, were not compatible with the design of the DNS. EXTERNAL
Any of the editions of Albitz, P. and C. Liu, DNS and BIND, O'Reilly and Associates, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2001. EXTERNAL
RFC625 — RFC625 EXTERNAL
IETF RFC 734 [Active*]
IETF RFC 742 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 811 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 819 [Active*]
IETF RFC 830 [Active*]
IETF RFC 854 [Active*]
IETF RFC 855 [Active*]
IETF RFC 882 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 883 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 952 [Active*]
IETF RFC 953 [Active*]
IETF RFC 954 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 1034 [Active*]
IETF RFC 1035 [Active, Amended*]
IETF RFC 1288 [Active*]
IETF RFC 1519 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 1591 [Active*]
IETF RFC 1834 [Active*]
IETF RFC 1913 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2167 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2181 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2295 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2317 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2396 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 2608 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2671 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 2825 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2826 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2915 [Superseded*]
IETF RFC 2957 [Active*]
IETF RFC 2958 [Active*]
RFC2972 — RFC2972 EXTERNAL
IETF RFC 3238 [Active*]
IETF RFC 3305 [Active*]
IETF RFC 3401 [Active*]
IETF RFC 3402 [Active*]
IETF RFC 3403 [Active*]
RFC3425 — IQUERY EXTERNAL
IETF RFC 3439 [Active*]
IETF RFC 3454 [Superseded*]
T-REC-X.29.1997 — X29 EXTERNAL
UNICODE.STD.3.0 — UNICODE EXTERNAL
UNICODE.STD.TR15-21 — UTR15 EXTERNAL

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Referenced By

IETF RFC 4185 [Active*]
IETF RFC 4690 [Active*]