This is an unfinished outline/draft for an article about ICANN. Warning: Some information in it may be obsolete, as, in its current state, it reflects the state of affairs circa late 1999.
What is ICANN?
ICANN-accredited regitrars, http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html
, have authority to register open generic TLDs (gTLDs) .com,
.net, .org .
- .gov domain: [USA's] Government-Wide Registration Service,
http://www.nic.gov
- .mil domain: [USA's] Department of Defense NIC, http://www.nic.mil
- .edu domain: Network Solutions (only), http://www.nsi.com
- .int domain: IANA, http://www.iana.org/int.html
Where does ICANN get its authority?
DNS was developed under the supervision of DARPA, SRI, and Jon Postel. With the shutdown of ARPANET in 1990, National Science Foundation took over DARPA's role. NSF gained USG (United States Government) statutory authority in that role, and, on Dec. 31, 1992, delegated DNS supervision to Network Solutions, Inc., under five-yearcommercial contract -- which expired Sept. 30, 1998. Network Solutions's current contract, which introduces competitors for some key functions, expires Septmber 30, 2000.
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) works as a "global consensus entity", aiming at transition away from USG technical coordination of DNS, and was formed in response to a US Department of Commerce January 30, 1998 Green Paper, http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/domainname130.htm , and a June 1998 White Paper, http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/6_5_98dns.htm , calling for formation of such a non-governmental group to supervise an open, competitive DNS-registration system with international participation, with transition to be completed before year 2000. US Department of Commerce then indicated its backing of ICANN in a Memorandum of Understanding = MoU on Nov. 25, 1998, http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/icann-memorandum.htm .
ICANN is taking over the functions of IANA, set up long ago by DARPA and run as a research project by Information Sciences Institute ("ISI") of USC's School of Engineering under DARPA contract, to establish, implement, and oversee IP-allocation and assignment policy, to do likewise for DNS, assign technical protocol parameter numbers and maintain their assigned values, and oversee operation of the DNS root server system.
Advisory groups for ICANN are Domain Name Supporting Organization, Address Supporting Organization, and Protocol Supporting Organization.
Who runs the root servers?
There are 13 of them. About half are USG-maintained.
A-ROOT-SERVERS.NET NSF-NSI, Herndon, VA (Network Solutions,
Inc.) This is the "primary root server". Network Solutions
continues to function as root-zone administrator on an interim
basis, unless and until instructed otherwise by the USG
Department of Commerce.
B-ROOT-SERVERS.NET DISA-USC, Marina del Rey, CA (Information
Sciences Institute, University of Southern California)
C-ROOT-SERVERS.NET PSI, Herndon, VA (PSInet)
D-ROOT-SERVERS.NET University of Maryland, College Park, MD
E-ROOT-SERVERS.NET NASA Moffett Field, Sunnyvale, CA
F-ROOT-SERVERS.NET Internet Software Consortium, Palo Alto,
CA
G-ROOT-SERVERS.NET DISA=Boeing, Vienna, VA (Defense Information
Systems Agency)
H-ROOT-SERVERS.NET US Army, Aberdeen, MD (Army Research
Laboratory)
I-ROOT-SERVERS.NET NORDU, Stockholm, Sweden (NORDUnet)
J-ROOT-SERVERS.NET NSF-NSI, Herndon, VA
K-ROOT-SERVERS.NET LINX/RIPE, London, UK (RIPE-NCC)
L-ROOT-SERVERS.NET DISA-USC, Marina del Rey, CA
M-ROOT-SERVERS.NET WIDE, Keio, HI (possibly Tokyo, Japan?)
Those ultimately define standard, consensus DNS. Registries outside that system include AlterNIC (http://www.alternic.net/) and eDNS (http://www.edns.net/). USG policy opposes creation of competing root-authority systems, but these outside registries are outside its authority.
Who else has been a player in the sundry bureaucratic machinations?
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA), an agency of the USG Department of Commerce
IANA, http://www.iana.org/,
authority supervising IP allocation, definition of Internet
protocol standards, and managing the DNS, including delegating
top-level domains and overseeing the root name server
system
Internet Society (ISOC), http://www.isoc.org/
International Ad Hoc Committee (IAHC or Ad Hoc Committee)
(failed), http://www.iahc.org/
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
International Telecommunications Union (ITU), http://www.itu.int/
Federal Networking Council (FNC)
Council of Internet Registrars (CORE), Switzerland, http://www.corenic.org/
Policy Oversight Committee (POC) (proposed, failed)
APNIC (Asia Pacific Network Information Centre), http://www.apnic.net/, the
Regional Internet Registry (RIR) distributing IP addresses in
the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Korea, China, and
Australia.
RIPE (Réseaux IP Européens), http://www.ripe.net/, the Regional
Internet Registry (RIR) distributing IP addresses in Europe and
surrounding areas.
ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers), http://www.arin.net/, the Regional
Internet Registry (RIR) distributing IP addresses in North
America, South America, the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa.
ARIN took over this duty from Network Solutions, Inc.
National Research Council of the National Academy of
Sciences
Internet Engineering Task Force, http://www.ietf.org/ , which also
runs Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG), http://www.ietf.org/iesg.html
and Internet Architecture Board (IAB), http://www.iab.org/
Who were ICANN's first five new "testbed" registrars for the Shared Registration System?
America Online, http://www.aol.com/
CORE (Internet Council of Registrars), http://www.corenic.org/
France Telecom/Oléane, http://www.oleane.com/
Melbourne IT, http://www.internetnamesww.com/
register.com, http://www.register.com/
Who are ICANN's subsequent, "post-testbed" registrars for the Shared Registration System?
#1 Domain Names International, Incorporated (WV, USA),
www.1dni.com
1stDomain.Net, a division of G+D International LLC (HI, USA)
www.firstdomain.net
2Day Internet Limited dba 2Day.com (New Zealand),
registrar.2day.com
7DC, Inc. (Korea) www.7dc.com
7WAYS (France) www.tldnames.com
9 Net Avenue, Inc. (NJ, USA) www.9netave.com
A+Net (CA, USA) www.names4ever.com
A Technology Company (Canada) www.dotpower.com
ABC Telemedia AG (Germany) www.tmag.de
Active ISP (Norway) www.activeisp.com
Affinity Hosting, LLC (CA, USA) www.affinity.net
Alabanza, Inc. d/b/a Bulkregister (MD, USA)
www.bulkregister.com
All West Communications (UT, USA) www.AWRegistry.net
Alldomains.com (CA, USA) www.alldomains.com
American Domain Name Registry (United States)
Animus Communications, Inc. (OK, USA) www.animus.net
AT&T (United States) www.att.net
BB Online UK Ltd. (United Kingdom) www.bb-online.co.uk
Capital Networks Pty Ltd. (Australia) www.TotalNIC.net
CASDNS, Inc. (United States) www.casdns.net
Catalog.com, Inc. (United States) www.catalog.com
CommuniTech.Net, Inc. (United States) www.communitech.net
Computer Data Networks (Kuwait) www.cdn.com
Concentric Network Corp. (United States) www.concentric.net
CSL Computer Service Langenbach GmbH (Germany) joker.com
Cydian Technologies (USA) www.cydian.com
DADA (Italy) www.dada.it
Datasource Network Australia Limited (Australia)
www.datasource.com.au
Deutsche Telekom AG (Germany) www.telekom.de
Domain Bank, Inc. (United States) www.domainbank.com
Domain Direct (Canada) www.domaindirect.com
DomainPeople, Inc. (Canada) www.domainpeople.com
Domain Registration Services (United States)
www.thewebsiteinc.com
DomainRegistry.com (United States) www.domainregistry.com
Domainsite.com, Inc. (United States) www.domainsite.com
DomainZoo.com, Inc. (United States) www.DomainZoo.com
Dotster, Inc. (United States) www.dotster.com
Eastern Communications Co., Ltd. (China) www.eastcom.com
Easyspace Ltd. (United Kingdom) www.easyspace.com
EnetRegistry.com Corporation (United States)
www.enetregistry.com
eNom, Inc. (United States) www.enom.com
EPAG Enter-Price Multimedia AG (Germany) www.epag.de
ExtremeNames.com (United States) www.worldsubmit.net
FloridaNet, Inc. dba ValueWeb (United States)
www.valueweb.com
FreeYellow.Com (United States) www.freeyellow.com
Gal Communications Ltd. (Israel) www.galcomm.com
GANDI (France) gandi.net
GetDomain.com (Canada) www.GetDomain.com
Go Daddy Software (USA) www.godaddy.com
HANGANG Systems Inc. (Korea) www.hangang.com
HKNet Company Limited (Hong Kong) www.hknet.com
IBI Company Ltd. (Republic of Korea) www.topregistrar.com
iDirections, Inc. (United States) www.idirections.com
iHoldings.com Inc. d/b/a DotRegistrar.com (United States)
www.iHoldings.com
Info Avenue Internet Services (United States)
www.infoave.net
InfoBack Corporation (United States) www.infoback.com
InfoNetworks (USA & United Kingdom)
www.infonetworks.com
infoUSA.com, Inc. (United States) www.infousa.com
InnerWise, Inc. d/b/a ItsYourDomain.com (United States)
www.itsyourdomain.com
InterAccess Company (United States) www.interaccess.com
Interactive Telecom Network, Inc. (United States)
www.itninc.net
Interdomain, S.A. (Spain) www.interdomain.org
Internet Domain Registrars (Canada & United States)
www.registrars.com
IDR (Internet Domain Registry) Ltd. (Israel)
www.idregister.com
Internet Fr SA (France) www.internet-fr.net
InterNeXt (France) www.internext.fr
interQ Incorporated (Japan) www.interq.ad.jp;
www.discount-domain.com
Intuit, Inc. (United States)
iTool.com (United States) www.itool.com
Marksonline, Inc. (United States) www.marksonline.com
Marvin Enterprises/Global Knowledge Group (United States)
www.gkg.net
Melbourne IT (Australia) www.internetnamesww.com
Mr. DomReg.com, Inc. (Canada) www.mrdomreg.com
MS Intergate, Inc. (United States) www.msintergate.com
NameEngine Inc. (United States) www.nameengine.com
The Name It Corporation (United States) www.nameit.net
NamesDirect.com (United States) www.NamesDirect.com
NameSecure.com (United States) www.namesecure.com
Name.Space (United States) www.name-space.com
NetBenefit (United Kingdom) www.netbenefit.com
NetNames (United Kingdom) www.netnames.com
NETPLEX LLC (United States) www.ntplx.net
Network Solutions (United States) www.networksolutions.com
Nobel Networks (United States) www.nobelnetworks.com
Nominalia (Catalonia) www.nominalia.com
NORDNET (France) www.nordnet.net
Omnis Network, LLC (United States) www.omnis.com
OnlineNIC, Inc. (China and United States) www.OnlineNIC.com
pair Networks, Inc. d/b/a pairNIC (USA, United Kingdom and
Germany) www.pair.com
Parava Networks, Inc. (USA) www.nAAme.com
Port Information System (Sweden) www.domaininfo.com
ProBoard Technologies (United States) www.e-names.org
PSINet, Inc. (United States & global) www.psi.com
PSI-Japan (Japan) www.psi-japan.com
PSI-USA (United States) www.psi-usa.com
RCN Corporation (United States) www.rcn.com
REACTO.com Ltd. (United Kingdom) www.REACTO.com
register.com (United States) www.register.com
Research Institute for Computer Science, Inc. (Japan)
www.rics.co.jp
Schlund + Partner AG (Germany) www.schlund.de
Secura Company (Germany) www.thefreeclassifieds.com
Shaver Communications Inc. (United States) www.web2010.com
Signature Domains, Inc. (United States)
Siteleader, Inc. (United States) www.siteleader.com
SiteName (Israel) www.sitename.com
Speednames, Inc. (United States, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden)
www.speednames.com
Stargate Communications, Inc. (United States)
www.stargateinc.com
Talk.com (USA) www.Talk.com
Techdogs (United States) www.techdogs.com
TelePartner AS (Denmark) www.telepartner.dk
The Direct Connection Ltd. (United Kingdom) www.dircon.net
TierraNet Inc. (United States) www.domaindiscover.com
Total Web Solutions (United Kingdom)
www.totalwebsolutions.com
Verio (United States) www.verio.com
Virtual Internet (United Kingdom) www.vi.net
Virtualis Systems, Inc. (United States) www.virtualis.com
Web Express, Inc. (United States) www.webex.net
WebTrends Corporation (United States) www.webtrends.com
World-Net (France) www.worldnet.net
Xin Net Corp. (China) www.chinadns.com
YesNIC (Republic of Korea) www.yesnic.com
Current status of all registrars is summarised at http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html .
How does the Shared Registration System (SRS) work?
The USG Department of Commerce required Network Solutions, under Amendment 11 of its Cooperative Agreement ( http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/proposals/docnsi100698.htm , effective Oct. 7, 1998) to set up a protocol and software to allow competing, certified registrars access to the shared registration databases.
Amendment 11 allows Network Solutions to charge for its registry functions "no more than a dollar amount per registration/year to be specified in a further amendment reflecting NSI's costs and a reasonable return on its investment," plus adjustments to reflect certain "demonstrated changed costs". Network Solutions nontheless continues to contest the amount of this fee with ICANN and the USG Department of Commerce, and most recently (Amendment 13 to its Cooperative Agreement) set a registry fee of $9 per domain name per year.
Network Solutions, as registry, maintains a gratis, public TCP port 43 rwhois service at rs.internic.net, to furnish registration-status information (with a Web-based front end) for second-level domains. Accredited registrars are allowed write access to the rwhois database: the "Registry Registrar Protocol". (Note that the rwhois database consists of static files that currently lag the working registry database by about a day.) Network Solutions also offers bulk access to .com, .net, and .org zonefiles as described in http://www.icann.org/nsi/nsi-registry-agreement-appd-04nov99.htm
How does ICANN accreditation work?
Registrars must agree to follow ICANN's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy, http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm , with arbitration provided (if needed) by the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution, http://www.cpradr.org/ . Other requirements and arrangements are described at http://www.icann.org/nsi/icann-raa-04nov99.htm and http://www.icann.org/registrars/accreditation-process.htm .
In order to get access to the registry database, registrars must also sign a licence agreement with Network Solutions: http://www.icann.org/nsi/nsi-rla-04nov99.htm . The firm maintains an information site on its registry role at http://www.nsiregistry.com/
To be written:
Look into OpenSRS, http://www.opensrs.org/ . Service
for bulk providers of SLDs registering 25 or more SLDs per
year. Thus, second-level providers such as JumpDomain.
info@domainpeople.com says:
The registrar you are transferring to makes a request to the NSI Registry (where all domain names are registered and pointed). The NSI Registry then emails the registrar you are leaving (in your case NetSol) and lets them know a request for your domain name to be transferred has been made. If NetSol has any objections, then they have to write back saying so, if they agree to the transfer they have to write back indicating that as well. Now, normally (and we all know NetSol doesn't follow the rules of normal) Netsol will let the transfer take place if no moneys are owed to them for that domain name, nor are there any pending disputes with the name. Having said all this, if the NSI registry does not get an answer from the leaving registrar (NetSol) in 5 days, the transfer goes ahead any ways. After it has been transferred- NetSol can send you notice after notice for non payment, but it does not matter as you are under the management of a different registrar.
Contract change in mid-term
Unilateral cancellation
Alternative TLDs.