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102 - Internet:
__________
102 / 03
nterNIC
FAQs
The
Domain Name System: A Non-Technical Explanation - -
Why Universal Resolvability Is
Important
What is the Domain Name System?
-----The Domain Name
System (DNS) helps users to find their way around
the Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a
unique address &endash; just like a telephone
number - which is a rather complicated string of
numbers. It is called its "IP address" (IP stands
for "Internet Protocol").
-----But it is hard to
remember everyone's IP address. The DNS makes it
easier by allowing a familiar string of letters
(the "domain name") to be used instead of the
arcane IP address. So instead of typing
192.0.34.65, you can type www.icann.org.
It is a "mnemonic" device that makes addresses
easier to remember.
-----Translating the
name into the IP address is called "resolving the
domain name." The goal of the DNS is for any
Internet user any place in the world to reach a
specific website IP address by entering its domain
name. Domain names are also used for reaching
e-mail addresses and for other Internet
applications.
-----What is
universal resolvability and why is it important to
users?
Think of the phone system . . .
when you dial a number, it rings at a particular
location because there is a central numbering plan
that ensures that each telephone number is unique.
The DNS works in a similar way. If telephone
numbers or domain names were not globally unique,
phone calls or e-mail intended for one person might
go to someone else with the same number or domain
name. Without uniqueness, both systems would be
unpredictable and therefore unreliable.
-----Ensuring
predictable results from any place on the Internet
is called "universal resolvability." It is a
critical design feature of the DNS, one that makes
the Internet the helpful, global resource that it
is today. Without it, the same domain name might
map to different Internet locations under different
circumstances, which would only cause
confusion.
-----When you send an
e-mail to your Aunt Sally, do you care who receives
it?
-----Do you care if it
goes to your Uncle Juan instead? Wait a
minute…do you have an Uncle Juan? Then whose
Uncle Juan received it? Do you care if it reaches
Aunt Sally if you send it from work but my Uncle
Juan if you send it from home?
-----Of course you
care who receives it . . . that's
why you wrote it in the first place. Whether you're
doing business or sending personal correspondence,
you want to be certain that your message gets to
the intended addressee.
-----If at any point
the DNS must make a choice between two identical
domain names with different IP addresses, the DNS
would not function. It would not know how to
resolve the domain name. When a DNS computer
queries another computer and asks, "are you the
intended recipient of this message?", "yes" and
"no" are acceptable answers, but "maybe" is
not.
-----Where does
ICANN come in?
This is where ICANN comes
in . . . ICANN is responsible for
managing and coordinating the DNS to ensure
universal resolvability.
ICANN is the global, non-profit, private-sector
coordinating body acting in the public interest.
ICANN ensures that the DNS continues to function
effectively &endash; by overseeing the
distribution of unique numeric IP addresses and
domain names. Among its other responsibilities,
ICANN oversees the processes and systems that
ensure that each domain name maps to the correct IP
address.
-----What goes on
behind the scenes?
Behind the scenes, the story becomes a little
more complicated.
-----In an Internet
address &endash; such as icann.org &endash; the
.org part is known as a Top Level Domain, or TLD.
So-called "TLD registry" organizations house online
databases that contain information about the domain
names in that TLD. The .org registry database, for
example, contains the Internet whereabouts &endash;
or IP address &endash; of icann.org. So in trying
to find the Internet address of icann.org your
computer must first find the .org registry
database. How is this done?
-----At the heart of
the DNS are 13 special computers, called root
servers. They are coordinated by ICANN and are
distributed around the world. All 13 contain the
same vital information &endash; this is to spread
the workload and back each other up.
-----Why are these
root servers so important? The root servers contain
the IP addresses of all the TLD registries &endash;
both the global registries such as .com, .org, etc.
and the 244 country-specific registries such as .fr
(France), .cn (China), etc. This is critical
information. If the information is not 100% correct
or if it is ambiguous, it might not be possible to
locate a key registry on the Internet. In DNS
parlance, the information must be unique and
authentic. Let us look at how this information is
used.
-----Scattered across
the Internet are thousands of computers &endash;
called "Domain Name Resolvers" or just plain
"resolvers" - that routinely cache the information
they receive from queries to the root servers.
These resolvers are located strategically with
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or institutional
networks. They are used to respond to a user's
request to resolve a domain name &endash; that is,
to find the corresponding IP address.
-----So what happens
to a user's request to reach our familiar friend at
icann.org? The request is forwarded to a local
resolver. The resolver splits the request into its
component parts. It knows where to find the .org
registry &endash; remember, it had copied that
information from a root server beforehand &endash;
so it forwards the request over to the .org
registry to find the IP address of icann.org. This
answer is forwarded back to the user's computer.
And we're done. It's that simple! The domain name
icann.org has been "resolved"!
-----Why do we need
the resolvers? Why not use the root servers
directly? After all, they contain essentially the
same information. The answer is for reasons of
performance. The root servers could not handle
hundreds of billions of requests a day! It would
slow users down.
-----If you are still
with the story, you are already wondering about
more complicated names with more parts such as
www.icann.org. Well, the DNS is a hierarchical
system. First, the resolver finds the IP address
for the .org registry, queries that registry to
find the IP address for icann.org, then queries a
local computer at that address to find the final IP
address for www.icann.org. Just what you would
expect.
-----It is important
to remember the central and critical role played by
the root servers that store information about the
unique, authoritative root. Confusion would result
if there were two TLDs with the same name: which
one did the user intend? The beauty of the Internet
architecture is that it ensures there is a unique,
authoritative root, so that there is no chance of
ambiguity.
-----What about
"alternate roots?" How do they fit into this
picture?
Anyone can create a root system similar to the
unique authoritative root managed by ICANN. Many
people and entities have. Some of these are purely
private (inside a single corporation, for example)
and are insulated from having any effect on the
DNS. Some, however, overlap the authoritative
global DNS root by incorporating the unique,
authoritative root information, and then adding new
pseudo-TLDs that have not resulted from the
consensus-driven process by which official new TLDs
are created through ICANN. The alternate root
operators persuade some users to have their
resolvers "point" to their alternate root instead
of the authoritative root. Others (New.net is a
recent example) also create browser plug-ins and
other software workarounds to accomplish similar
effects. The one uniform fact about all these
efforts is that these pseudo-TLDs are not included
in the authoritative root managed by ICANN and,
thus, are not resolvable by the vast majority of
Internet users.
-----Why do
alternate roots create a problem?
There are many potential problems caused by
these unofficial, alternate root efforts to exploit
the stability and reach of the authoritative root.
These efforts are often promoted by those unwilling
to abide by the consensus policies established by
the Internet community, policies designed to ensure
the continued stability and utility of the DNS.
For example:
- First, the names of some of these
pseudo-TLDs could overlap TLD names in the
authoritative root or those that appear in other
alternate roots. Our familiar friend icann.org
could appear in two different roots. Your e-mail
to Aunt Sally could end up with my Uncle
Juan.
- Second, the unknowing users might not be
linked to one of these alternate roots and not
be able to reach these pseudo-TLD addresses at
all. Your e-mail to Aunt Sally could end up as a
dead-letter.
- Third, those purchasing domain names in
these pseudo-TLDs may not be aware of these and
other consequences of the lack of universal
resolvability. Or they may be under the
impression that they are experiencing universal
resolvability when in fact they are not. They
may be very upset to learn that the names they
registered are also being used by others, or
that a new TLD in the authoritative root will
not include those names.
These problems are not significant so long as
these alternate roots remain very small, that is,
house few domain names with little potential for
conflict. But if they should ever attract many
users, the problems would become much more serious,
and could affect the stability and reliability of
the DNS itself. Users would lose confidence in the
utility of the Internet.
-----What is
ICANN's role?
-----ICANN's mission
is to protect and preserve the stability, integrity
and utility &endash; on behalf of the global
Internet community &endash; of the DNS and the
authoritative root ICANN was established to manage.
ICANN has no role to play with alternate roots so
long as these and other analogous efforts do not
create instabilities in the DNS or otherwise impair
the stability of the authoritative root. But ICANN
does have a role to play in educating and informing
about threats to the Internet's reliability and
stability.
-----ICANN is a
consensus development body for the global Internet
community, and its focus is the development of
consensus policies relating to the single
authoritative root and the DNS. These policies
include those that allow the orderly introduction
of new TLDs.
-----There are
those&endash;including operators of commercialized
alternate roots&endash;who pursue unilateral
actions outside the ICANN consensus-development
process. Many hope to circumvent these processes by
claiming to establish some prior right to a
top-level domain name. ICANN, however, recognizes
no such prior claim. ICANN will continue to reflect
the public policy consensus of the global Internet
community over the private claims of the few who
try to bypass this consensus.
-----In
Short . . . . . .
-----Just as there
is a single root for telephone numbers
internationally, there must be a single
authoritative root for the Internet, administered
in the public interest.
-----//
-----Respectfully
Submitted
Josie
Cory
Publisher/Editor
TVI Magazine
TVI
Magazine, tviNews.net, Associated Press, Reuters,
BBC, LA Times, NY Times, VRA's D-Diaries, Press
Releases, They Said It Tracking Model, and
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