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Extensible Delegation for DNS
draft-homburg-deleg-01

Document Type Active Internet-Draft (individual)
Authors Philip Homburg , Tim Wicinski , Jesse van Zutphen , Willem Toorop
Last updated 2025-04-03
Replaces draft-homburg-deleg-incremental-deleg
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draft-homburg-deleg-01
DNS Delegation                                                P. Homburg
Internet-Draft                                                NLnet Labs
Intended status: Standards Track                             T. Wicinski
Expires: 5 October 2025                               Cox Communications
                                                           J. V. Zutphen
                                                 University of Amsterdam
                                                               W. Toorop
                                                              NLnet Labs
                                                            3 April 2025

                     Extensible Delegation for DNS
                         draft-homburg-deleg-01

Abstract

   This document proposes a mechanism for extensible delegations in the
   DNS.  The mechanism realizes delegations with resource record sets
   placed below a _deleg label in the apex of the delegating zone.  This
   authoritative delegation point can be aliased to other names using
   CNAME and DNAME.  This document proposes a new DNS resource record
   type, IDELEG, which is based on the SVCB and inherits extensibility
   from it.

   IDELEG RRsets containing delegation information will be returned in
   the authority section in referral responses from supportive
   authoritative name servers.  Lack of support in the authoritative
   name servers, forwarders or other components, does not obstruct
   obtaining the delegation information for resolvers, as it is
   originally authoritative information that can be queried for
   directly.  None, mixed or full deployment of the mechanism on
   authoritative name servers are all fully functional, allowing for the
   mechanism to be incrementally deployed on the authoritative name
   servers.

About This Document

   This note is to be removed before publishing as an RFC.

   Status information for this document may be found at
   https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-homburg-deleg/.

   Discussion of this document takes place on the deleg Working Group
   mailing list (mailto:dd@ietf.org), which is archived at
   https://mailarchive.ietf.org/arch/browse/dd/.  Subscribe at
   https://www.ietf.org/mailman/listinfo/dd/.

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   Source for this draft and an issue tracker can be found at
   https://github.com/NLnetLabs/incremental-deleg.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
   and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any
   time.  It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference
   material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

   This Internet-Draft will expire on 5 October 2025.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2025 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents (https://trustee.ietf.org/
   license-info) in effect on the date of publication of this document.
   Please review these documents carefully, as they describe your rights
   and restrictions with respect to this document.  Code Components
   extracted from this document must include Revised BSD License text as
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   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Signaling capabilities of the authoritative name
           servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.2.  _Note to the RFC Editor_: please remove this subsection
           before publication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.3.  Outsourcing operation of the delegation . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.4.  DNSSEC protection of the delegation . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.5.  Maximize ease of deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     1.6.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   2.  The IDELEG resource record type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   3.  Delegation administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     3.1.  Examples  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8

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       3.1.1.  One name server within the subzone  . . . . . . . . .   8
       3.1.2.  Two name servers within the subzone . . . . . . . . .   8
       3.1.3.  Outsourced to an operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       3.1.4.  DNSSEC-signed name servers within the subzone . . . .   9
   4.  Authoritative name server support . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
     4.1.  Registration of authoritative name server support . . . .  15
     4.2.  Support detection with unsigned zones . . . . . . . . . .  15
     4.3.  Deregistering authoritative name server support . . . . .  16
   5.  Resolving without authoritative name server support . . . . .  16
     5.1.  The deleg query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     5.2.  _deleg label presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
       5.2.1.  Test _deleg label presence (unsigned zones only)  . .  19
     5.3.  Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
       5.3.1.  Reduced latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   6.  Priming queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   7.  Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   8.  How does the protocol described in this draft meet the
           requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   9.  Implementation Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
   10. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
   11. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
     11.1.  IDELEG RR type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
     11.2.  _deleg Node Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
   12. References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
     12.1.  Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
     12.2.  Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
   Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29

1.  Introduction

   This document describes a delegation mechanism for the Domain Name
   System (DNS) [STD13] that addresses several matters that, at the time
   of writing, are suboptimally supported or not supported at all.
   These matters are elaborated upon in sections 1.1, 1.3 and 1.4.  In
   addition, the mechanism described in this document aspires to be
   maximally deployable, which is elaborated upon in Section 1.5.

1.1.  Signaling capabilities of the authoritative name servers

   A new IDELEG resource record (RR) type is introduced in this
   document, which is based on and inherits the wire and presentation
   format from SVCB [RFC9460].  All Service Binding Mappings, as well as
   the capability signalling, that are specified in [RFC9461] are also
   applicable to IDELEG, with the exception of the limitations on
   AliasMode records in Section 6 of [RFC9460].  Capability signalling
   of DNS over Transport Layer Protocol [RFC7858] (DoT), DNS Queries
   over HTTPS [RFC8484] and DNS over Dedicated QUIC Connections

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   [RFC9250], on default or alternative ports, can all be used as
   specified in [RFC9461].  The IDELEG RR type inherits its
   extensibility from the SVCB RR type, which is designed to be
   extensible to support future uses (such as keys for encrypting the
   TLS ClientHello [I-D.ietf-tls-esni].)

1.2.  _Note to the RFC Editor_: please remove this subsection before
      publication.

   The name IDELEG is chosen to avoid confusion with
   [I-D.wesplaap-deleg].

1.3.  Outsourcing operation of the delegation

   Delegation information is stored at an authoritative location in the
   zone with this mechanism.  Legacy methods to redirect this
   information to another location, possible under the control of
   another operator, such as (CNAME Section 3.6.2 of [RFC1034]) and
   DNAME [RFC6672] remain functional.  One could even outsource all
   delegation operational practice to another party with a DNAME record
   on the _deleg label on the apex of the delegating zone.

   Additional to the legacy methods, a delegation may be outsourced to a
   set of third parties by having RRs in AliasMode.  Unlike SVCB, IDELEG
   allows for more than a single IDELEG RR in AliasMode in an IDELEG
   RRset, enabling outsourcing a delegation to multiple different
   operators.

1.4.  DNSSEC protection of the delegation

   With legacy delegations, the NS RRset at the parent side of a
   delegation as well as glue records for the names in the NS RRset are
   not authoritative and not DNSSEC signed.  An adversary that is able
   to spoof a referral response, can alter this information and redirect
   all traffic for the delegation to a rogue name server undetected.
   The adversary can then perceive all queries for the redirected zone
   (Privacy concern) and alter all unsigned parts of responses (such as
   further referrals, which is a Security concern).

   DNSSEC protection of delegation information prevents that, and is the
   only countermeasure that also works against on-path attackers.  At
   the time of writing, the only way to DNSSEC-validate and verify
   delegations at all levels in the DNS hierarchy is to revalidate
   delegations [I-D.ietf-dnsop-ns-revalidation], which is done after the
   fact and has other security concerns (Section 7 of
   [I-D.ietf-dnsop-ns-revalidation]).

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   Direct delegation information (provided by IDELEG RRs in ServiceMode)
   includes the hostnames of the authoritative name servers for the
   delegation as well as IP addresses for those hostnames.  Since the
   information is stored authoritatively in the delegating zone, it will
   be DNSSEC-signed if the zone is signed.  When the delegation is
   outsourced, then it's protected when the zones providing the aliasing
   resource records _and_ the zones serving the targets of the aliases
   are all DNSSEC-signed.

1.5.  Maximize ease of deployment

   Delegation information is stored authoritatively within the
   delegating zone.  No semantic changes as to what zones are
   authoritative for what data are needed.  As a consequence, existing
   DNS software, such as authoritative name servers and DNSSEC signing
   software, can remain unmodified.  Unmodified authoritative name
   server software will serve the delegation information when queried
   for.  Unmodified signers will sign the delegation information in the
   delegating zone.  Support for IDELEG is only required for
   functionalities following delegations (like recursive resolvers), but
   they do not need of the components it queries.  None, mixed or full
   deployment of the mechanism on authoritative name servers are all
   fully functional, allowing for the mechanism to be incrementally
   deployed on the authoritative name servers.

1.6.  Terminology

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and
   "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in
   BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all
   capitals, as shown here.

   This document follows terminology as defined in [BCP219].

   Throughout this document we will also use terminology with the
   meaning as defined below:

   Deleg:
      The delegation mechanism as specified in this document.

   IDELEG delegation:
      A delegation as specified in this document

   Legacy delegations:
      The way delegations are done in the DNS traditionally as defined
      in [STD13].

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   Delegating zone:
      The zone in which the delegation is administered.  Sometimes also
      called the "parent zone" of a delegation.

   Subzone:
      The zone that is delegated to from the delegating zone.

   Delegating name:
      The name which realizes the delegation.  In legacy delegations,
      this name is the same as the name of the subzone to which the
      delegation refers.  Delegations described in this document are
      provided with a different name than the zone that is delegated to.
      If needed we differentiate by explicitly calling it IDELEG
      delegation name or legacy delegation name.

   Deleg query:
      An explicit query for IDELEG RRset at the delegating name as used
      for IDELEG delegations.

   Delegation point:
      The location in the delegating zone where the RRs are provided
      that make up the delegation.  In legacy delegations, this is the
      parent side of the zone cut and has the same name as the subzone.
      With deleg, this is the location given by the IDELEG delegating
      name.  If needed we differentiate by explicitly calling it IDELEG
      delegation point or legacy delegation point.

   Triggering query:
      The query on which resolution a recursive resolver is working.

   Target zone:
      The zone for which the authoritative servers, that a resolver
      contacts while iterating, are authoritative.

2.  The IDELEG resource record type

   The IDELEG RR type is a variant of SVCB [RFC9460] for use with
   resolvers to perform iterative resolution (Section 5.3.3 of
   [RFC1034]).  The IDELEG type requires registration in the "Resource
   Record (RR) TYPEs" registry under the "Domain Name System (DNS)
   Parameters" registry group (see IDELEG RR type (Section 11.1)).  The
   protocol-specific mapping specification for iterative resolutions are
   the same as those for "DNS Servers" [RFC9461].

   Section 2.4.2 of [RFC9460] states that SVCB RRsets SHOULD only have a
   single RR in AliasMode, and that if multiple AliasMode RRs are
   present, clients or recursive resolvers SHOULD pick one at random.
   Different from SVCB (Section 2.4.2 of [RFC9460]), IDELEG allows for

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   multiple AliasMode RRs to be present in a single IDELEG RRset.  Note
   however that the target of an IDELEG RR in AliasMode is an SVCB RRset
   for the "dns" service type adhering fully to the Service Binding
   Mapping for DNS Servers as specified in [RFC9461].

   Section 2.4.1 of [RFC9460] states that within an SVCB RRset, all RRs
   SHOULD have the same mode, and that if an RRset contains a record in
   AliasMode, the recipient MUST ignore any ServiceMode records in the
   set.  Different from SVCB, mixed ServiceMode and AliasMode RRs are
   allowed in an IDELEG RRset.  When a mixed ServiceMode and AliasMode
   IDELEG RRset is encountered by a resolver, the resolver first picks
   one of the AliasMode RRs or all ServiceMode RRs, giving all
   ServiceMode RRs equal weight as each single AliasMode RR.  When the
   result of that choice is an AliasMode RR, then that RR is followed
   and the resulting IDELEG RRset is reevaluated.  When the result of
   that choice is all ServiceMode RRs, then within that set the resolver
   adheres to the ServicePriority value.

   At the delegation point (for example customer._deleg.example.), the
   host names of the authoritative name servers for the subzone, are
   given in the TargetName RDATA field of IDELEG records in ServiceMode.
   Port Prefix Naming Section 3 of [RFC9461] is not used at the
   delegation point, but MUST be used when resolving the aliased-to name
   servers with IDELEG RRs in AliasMode.

3.  Delegation administration

   An IDELEG delegation is realized with an IDELEG Resource Record set
   (RRset) [RFC9460] below a specially for the purpose reserved label
   with the name _deleg at the apex of the delegating zone.  The _deleg
   label scopes the interpretation of the IDELEG records and requires
   registration in the "Underscored and Globally Scoped DNS Node Names"
   registry (see _deleg Node Name (Section 11.2)).  The full scoping of
   delegations includes the labels that are *below* the _deleg label and
   those, together with the name of the delegating domain, make up the
   name of the subzone to which the delegation refers.  For example, if
   the delegating zone is example., then a delegation to subzone
   customer.example. is realized by a IDELEG RRset at the name
   customer._deleg.example. in the parent zone.  A fully scoped
   delegating name (such as customer._deleg.example.) is referred to
   further in this document as the "delegation point".

   Note that if the delegation is outsourcing to a single operator
   represented in a single IDELEG RR, it is RECOMMENDED to refer to the
   name of the operator's IDELEG RRset with a CNAME on the delegation
   point instead of a IDELEG RR in AliasMode Section 10.2 of [RFC9460].

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   For reasons that will be explained in Section 4.2, operators SHOULD
   include the following in zones that include IDELEG records: *._deleg
   86400 IN IDELEG 0 .

3.1.  Examples

3.1.1.  One name server within the subzone

   $ORIGIN example.
   @                 IN  SOA    ns zonemaster ...
   customer1._deleg  IN  IDELEG 1 ( ns.customer1
                                    ipv4hint=198.51.100.1,203.0.113.1
                                    ipv6hint=2001:db8:1::1,2001:db8:2::1
                                  )

                Figure 1: One name server within the subzone

3.1.2.  Two name servers within the subzone

   $ORIGIN example.
   @                 IN  SOA    ns zonemaster ...
   customer2._deleg  IN  IDELEG 1 ns1.customer2 ( ipv4hint=198.51.100.1
                                                  ipv6hint=2001:db8:1::1
                                                )
                     IN  IDELEG 1 ns2.customer2 ( ipv4hint=203.0.113.1
                                                  ipv6hint=2001:db8:2::1
                                                )

               Figure 2: Two name servers within the subzone

3.1.3.  Outsourced to an operator

   $ORIGIN example.
   @                 IN  SOA   ns zonemaster ...
   customer3._deleg  IN  CNAME _dns.ns.operator1

                      Figure 3: Outsourced with CNAME

   Instead of using CNAME, the outsourcing could also have been
   accomplished with an IDELEG RRset with a single IDELEG RR in
   AliasMode.  The configuration below is operationally equivalent to
   the CNAME configuration above.  It is RECOMMENDED to use a CNAME over
   an IDELEG RRset with a single IDELEG RR in AliasMode (Section 10.2 of
   [RFC9460]).  Note that an IDELEG RRset refers with TargetName to a
   DNS service [RFC9461], which will be looked up using Port Prefix
   Naming Section 3 of [RFC9461], but that an CNAME refers to the domain
   name of the target SVCB RRset instead (or CNAME) which may have a
   _dns prefix.

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   $ORIGIN example.
   @                 IN  SOA    ns zonemaster ...
   customer3._deleg  IN  IDELEG 0 ns.operator1

              Figure 4: Outsourced with an AliasMode IDELEG RR

   The operator SVCB RRset could for example be:

   $ORIGIN operator1.example.
   @                 IN  SOA    ns zonemaster ...
   _dns.ns           IN  SVCB   1 ns ( alpn=h2,dot,h3,doq
                                       ipv4hint=192.0.2.1
                                       ipv6hint=2001:db8:3::1
                                       dohpath=/q{?dns}
                                     )
                     IN  SVCB   2 ns ( ipv4hint=192.0.2.2
                                       ipv6hint=2001:db8:3::2
                                     )
   ns                IN  AAAA   2001:db8:3::1
                     IN  AAAA   2001:db8:3::2
                     IN  A      192.0.2.1
                     IN  A      192.0.2.2

                          Figure 5: Operator zone

3.1.4.  DNSSEC-signed name servers within the subzone

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  $ORIGIN
  @                 IN  SOA    ns zonemaster ...
                    IN  RRSIG  SOA ...
                    IN  DNSKEY 257 3 15 ...
                    IN  RRSIG  DNSKEY ...
                    IN  NS     ns.example.
                    IN  RRSIG  NS ...
                    IN  NSEC   customer5._deleg NS SOA RRSIG NSEC DNSKEY
                    IN  RRSIG  NSEC ...

  customer5._deleg  IN  IDELEG 1 ns.customer5 alpn=h2,h3 (
                                              ipv4hint=198.51.100.5
                                              ipv6hint=2001:db8:5::1
                                              dohpath=/dns-query{?dns}
                                              )
                    IN  RRSIG  IDELEG ...
                    IN  NSEC   customer7._deleg RRSIG NSEC IDELEG
                    IN  RRSIG  NSEC ...

  customer7._deleg  IN  CNAME  customer5._deleg
                    IN  RRSIG  CNAME ...
                    IN  NSEC   customer5 CNAME RRSIG NSEC
                    IN  RRSIG  NSEC ...

  customer5         IN  NS     ns.customer5
  ns.customer5      IN  A      198.51.100.5
                    IN  AAAA   2001:db8:5::1
  customer5         IN  DS     17405 15 2 ...
                    IN  RRSIG  DS ...
                    IN  NSEC   customer6 NS DS RRSIG NSEC
                    IN  RRSIG  NSEC ...

  customer6         IN  NS     ns.customer6
  ns.customer6      IN  A      203.0.113.1
                    IN  AAAA   2001:db8:6::1
  customer6         IN  DS     ...
                    IN  RRSIG  DS ...
                    IN  NSEC   customer7 NS DS RRSIG NSEC
                    IN  RRSIG  NSEC ...

  customer7         IN  NS     ns.customer5
                    IN  DS     ...
                    IN  RRSIG  DS ...
                    IN  NSEC   example. NS DS RRSIG NSEC
                    IN  RRSIG  NSEC ...

                    Figure 6: DNSSEC-signed deleg zone

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   customer5.example. is delegated to in an extensible way and
   customer6.example. is delegated only in a legacy way.
   customer7.example.'s delegation is outsourced to customer5's
   delegation.

   The delegation signals that the authoritative name server supports
   DoH. customer5.example., customer6.example. and example. are all
   DNSSEC-signed.  The DNSSEC authentication chain links from example.
   to customer5.example. in the for DNSSEC conventional way with the
   signed customer5.example.  DS RRset in the example. zone.  Also,
   customer6.example. is linked to from example. with the signed
   customer6.example.  DS RRset in the example. zone.

   Note that both customer5.example. and customer6.example. have legacy
   delegations in the zone as well.  It is important to have those
   legacy delegations to maintain support for legacy resolvers, that do
   not support deleg.  DNSSEC signers SHOULD construct the NS RRset and
   glue for the legacy delegation from the IDELEG RRset.

4.  Authoritative name server support

   Deleg supporting authoritative name servers include the IDELEG
   delegation information (or the NSEC(3) records showing the non-
   existence) in the authority section of referral responses to legacy
   DNS queries.  For example, querying the zone from Figure 6 for
   www.customer5.example.  A, will return the following referral
   response:

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   ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, rcode: NOERROR, id: 54349
   ;; flags: qr ; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 5, ADDITIONAL: 2
   ;; QUESTION SECTION:
   ;; www.customer5.example.       IN      A

   ;; ANSWER SECTION:

   ;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
   customer5.example.      3600    IN      NS      ns.customer5.example.
   customer5.example.      3600    IN      DS      ...
   customer5.example.      3600    IN      RRSIG   DS ...
   customer5._deleg.example.       3600    IN      IDELEG 1 (
                   ns.customer5.example. alpn=h2,h3
                   ipv4hint=198.51.100.5 ipv6hint=2001:db8:5::1
                   dohpath=/dns-query{?dns}
                   )
   customer5._deleg.example.       3600    IN      RRSIG   IDELEG ...

   ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
   ns.customer5.example.   3600    IN      A       198.51.100.5
   ns.customer5.example.   3600    IN      AAAA    2001:db8:5::1

   ;; Query time: 0 msec
   ;; EDNS: version 0; flags: do ; udp: 1232
   ;; SERVER: 192.0.2.53
   ;; WHEN: Mon Feb 24 20:36:25 2025
   ;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 456

                    Figure 7: A deleg referral response

   The referral response in Figure 7 includes the signed IDELEG RRset in
   the authority section.

   As another example, querying the zone from Figure 6 for
   www.customer6.example.  A, will return the following referral
   response:

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   ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, rcode: NOERROR, id: 36574
   ;; flags: qr ; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 9, ADDITIONAL: 2
   ;; QUESTION SECTION:
   ;; www.customer6.example.       IN      A

   ;; ANSWER SECTION:

   ;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
   customer6.example.      3600    IN      NS      ns.customer6.example.
   customer6.example.      3600    IN      DS      ...
   customer6.example.      3600    IN      RRSIG   DS ...
   customer5._deleg.example.       1234    IN      NSEC    (
                   customer7._deleg.example.  RRSIG NSEC IDELEG )
   customer5._deleg.example.       1234    IN      RRSIG   NSEC ...
   example.        1234    IN      NSEC    (
                   customer5._deleg.example.  NS SOA RRSIG NSEC DNSKEY )
   example.        1234    IN      RRSIG   NSEC ...

   ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
   ns.customer6.example.   3600    IN      A       203.0.113.1
   ns.customer6.example.   3600    IN      AAAA    2001:db8:6::1

   ;; Query time: 0 msec
   ;; EDNS: version 0; flags: do ; udp: 1232
   ;; SERVER: 192.0.2.53
   ;; WHEN: Tue Feb 25 10:23:53 2025
   ;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 744

                 Figure 8: Referral response without deleg

   Next to the legacy delegation, the deleg supporting authoritative
   returns the NSEC(3) RRs needed to show that there was no IDELEG
   delegation in the referral response in Figure 8.

   Querying the zone from Figure 6 for www.customer7.example.  A, will
   return the following referral response:

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   ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, rcode: NOERROR, id: 9456
   ;; flags: qr ; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 0, AUTHORITY: 7, ADDITIONAL: 2
   ;; QUESTION SECTION:
   ;; www.customer7.example.       IN      A

   ;; ANSWER SECTION:

   ;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
   customer7.example.      3600    IN      NS      ns.customer5.example.
   customer7.example.      3600    IN      DS      ...
   customer7.example.      3600    IN      RRSIG   DS ...
   customer7._deleg.example.       3600    IN      CNAME   (
                   customer5._deleg.example. )
   customer7._deleg.example.       3600    IN      RRSIG   CNAME ...
   customer5._deleg.example.       3600    IN      IDELEG   1 (
                   ns.customer5.example. alpn=h2,h3
                   ipv4hint=198.51.100.5 ipv6hint=2001:db8:5::1 )
   customer5._deleg.example.       3600    IN      RRSIG   IDELEG ...

   ;; ADDITIONAL SECTION:
   ns.customer5.example.   3600    IN      A       198.51.100.5
   ns.customer5.example.   3600    IN      AAAA    2001:db8:5::1

   ;; Query time: 0 msec
   ;; EDNS: version 0; flags: do ; udp: 1232
   ;; SERVER: 192.0.2.53
   ;; WHEN: Tue Feb 25 10:55:07 2025
   ;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 593

                    Figure 9: Aliasing referral response

   The delegation of customer7.example. is aliased to the one that is
   also used by customer5.example.  Since both delegations are in the
   same zone, the authoritative name server for example. returns both
   the CNAME realising the alias, as well as the IDELEG RRset which is
   the target of the alias in Figure 9.  In other cases a returned CNAME
   or IDELEG RR in AliasMode may need further chasing by the resolver.

   With unsigned zones, only if an IDELEG delegation exists, the IDELEG
   RRset (or CNAME) will be present in the authority section of referral
   responses.  If there is no IDELEG delegation, then the IDELEG RRset
   (or CNAME) is simply absent from the authority section and the
   referral response is indistinguishable from an non deleg supportive
   authoritative.

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4.1.  Registration of authoritative name server support

   When the authority section of a referral response contains an IDELEG
   RRset or a CNAME record on the IDELEG delegation name, or valid
   NSEC(3) RRs showing the non-existence of such an IDELEG or CNAME
   RRset, then IDELEG supporting resolver SHOULD register that the
   contacted authoritative name server supports deleg for the duration
   indicated by the TTL for that IDELEG, CNAME or NSEC(3) RRset,
   adjusted to the resolver's TTL boundaries (Section 4 of [RFC8767]),
   but only if it is longer than any already registered duration.

   For example, in Figure 7, the IDELEG RRset at the IDELEG delegation
   point has TTL 3600.  The resolver should register that the contacted
   authoritative name server supports deleg for (at least) 3600 seconds
   (one hour).  All subsequent queries to that authoritative name server
   SHOULD NOT include deleg queries to be send in parallel.

   If the authority section contains more than one RRset making up the
   IDELEG delegation, then the RRset with the longest TTL MUST be taken
   to determine the duration for which deleg support is registered.

   For example, in Figure 9, both a CNAME and an IDELEG RRset for the
   IDELEG delegation are included in the authority section.  The longest
   TTL must be taken for deleg support registration, though because the
   TTL of both RRsets is 3600, it does not matter in this case.

   If an proof of non-existence of an IDELEG delegation is returned in
   the authority section of a referral response, IDELEG supporting
   resolvers SHOULD register that the authoritative name server that
   returned that response supports IDELEG for the duration of the
   maximum of the TTL of the NSEC(3) covering the name of the IDELEG
   delegation and the minimum rdata field of the SOA for the zone,
   adjusted to the boundaries for TTL values that the resolver has
   (Section 4 of [RFC8767]), but only if it is longer than any already
   registered duration.

4.2.  Support detection with unsigned zones

   An IDELEG RRset on an IDELEG delegation point, with an IDELEG RR in
   AliasMode, aliasing to the root zone, MUST be interpreted to mean
   that the legacy delegation information MUST be used to follow the
   referral.  All service parameters for such AliasMode (aliasing to the
   root) IDELEG RRs on the IDELEG delegation point, MUST be ignored.

   For example, such an IDELEG RRset registered on the wildcard below
   the _deleg label on the apex of a zone, can signal that legacy DNS
   referrals MUST be used for both signed and _unsigned_ zones:

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   $ORIGIN example.
   @                 IN  SOA   ns zonemaster ...
   *._deleg   86400  IN  IDELEG 0 .
   customer1._deleg  IN  IDELEG 1 ( ns.customer1
                                    ipv4hint=198.51.100.1,203.0.113.1
                                    ipv6hint=2001:db8:1::1,2001:db8:2::1
                                  )
   customer3._deleg  IN  CNAME _dns.ns.operator1

        Figure 10: Wildcard IDELEG delegation to control duration of
                              detected support

   Resolvers SHOULD register that an authoritative name server supports
   deleg, if such an IDELEG RRset is returned in the authority section
   of referral responses, for the duration of the TTL if the IDELEG
   RRset, adjusted to the resolver's TTL boundaries (Section 4 of
   [RFC8767]), but only if it is longer than any already registered
   duration.  Note that this will also be included in referral responses
   for unsigned zones, which would otherwise not have signalling of
   deleg support by the authoritative name server.

   Also, signed zones need fewer RRs to indicate that no IDELEG
   delegation exists.  The wildcard expansion already shows the closest
   encloser (i.e. _deleg.<apex>), so only one additional NSEC(3) is
   needed to show non-existence of the queried-for name below the
   closest encloser.

   This method of signalling that the legacy delegation MUST be used, is
   RECOMMENDED.

4.3.  Deregistering authoritative name server support

   If the resolver knows that the authoritative name server supports
   deleg, _and_ a DNSSEC-signed zone is being served, then all referrals
   SHOULD contain either an IDELEG delegation, or NSEC(3) records
   showing that the delegation does not exist.  If a referral is
   returned that does not contain an IDELEG delegation nor an indication
   that it does not exist, then the resolver MAY deregister that the
   authoritative server supports IDELEG and MUST send an additional
   deleg query to find the delegation (or denial of its existence) (see
   also Resolving without authoritative name server support
   (Section 5)).

5.  Resolving without authoritative name server support

   In two cases, resolvers do *not* need to do additional processing.

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   1.  As part of the processing a recursive resolver does, it learns
       where the zone boundaries are in the DNS name tree.  If the
       triggering query name is already known to be the apex of a zone,
       then no further delegation point probing will need to be done for
       this name (subject to the TTL of this information).

   2.  If a resolver encounters a non-referral response, then no
       delegations are involved and no further delegation probing is
       needed for this name (subject to the TTL of this information).

   If a resolver encounters an referral that does not contain an IDELEG
   delegation nor an indication that it does not exist, then the
   resolver MUST find out whether the queried zone contains IDELEG
   delegations at all.

   1.  For DNSSEC signed zones, a direct query for the IDELEG delegation
       information suffices (see The deleg query (Section 5.1)).

   2.  For unsigned zones, if unknown, the presence of the _deleg label
       at the zone's apex needs to be detected in addition to a direct
       query for the IDELEG delegation information (see _deleg label
       presence (Section 5.2)).

   Sub section Summary (Section 5.3) contains an overview summarizing
   sub sections Section 5.1 and Section 5.2

5.1.  The deleg query

   The deleg query name is constructed by concatenating the first label
   below the part that the triggering query name has in common with the
   target zone, a _deleg label and the name of the target zone.  For
   example if the triggering query is www.customer.example. and the
   target zone example., then the deleg query name is
   customer._deleg.example.  For another example, if the triggering
   query is www.faculty.university.example. and the target zone
   faculty.university.example. then the deleg query name is
   www._deleg.faculty.university.example.

   DNAME, CNAME and IDELEG in AliasMode processing happens as before,
   though note that when following an IDELEG RR in AliasMode the target
   RR type is SVCB (see Section 2).  The eventual deleg query response,
   after following all redirections caused by DNAME, CNAME and AliasMode
   IDELEG RRs, has three possible outcomes:

   1.  An IDELEG RRset in ServiceMode is returned in the response's
       answer section containing the delegation for the subzone.

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       The IDELEG RRs in the RRset MUST be used to follow the referral.
       The TargetName data field in the IDELEG RRs in the RRset MUST be
       used as the names for the name servers to contact for the
       subzone, and the ipv4hint and ipv6hint parameters MUST be used as
       the IP addresses for the TargetName in the same IDELEG RR.

       The NS RRset and glue, from the referral response, MUST NOT be
       used, but the signed DS record (or NSEC(3) records indicating
       that there was no DS) MUST be used in linking the DNSSEC
       authentication chain as which would conventionally be done with
       DNSSEC as well.

   2.  The deleg query name does not exist (NXDOMAIN).

       There is no IDELEG delegation for the subzone, and the referral
       response for the legacy delegation MUST be processed as would be
       done with legacy DNS and DNSSEC processing.

       When the query was for an DNSSEC signed zone, the NXDOMAIN
       response will expose whether or not the _deleg label exists at
       the zone's apex.  If it does not exist, this should be registered
       for the duration of the maximum of the TTL of the NSEC(3)
       covering the _deleg label and the minimum rdata field of the SOA
       for the zone, adjusted to the boundaries for TTL values that the
       resolver has (Section 4 of [RFC8767]).  For this period, deleg
       queries to this zone MUST NOT be made (see also Section 5.2).

   3.  The deleg query name does exist, but resulted in a NOERROR no
       answer response (also known as a NODATA response).

       If the legacy query, did result in a referral for the same number
       of labels as the subdomain that the deleg query was for, then
       there was no IDELEG delegation for the subzone, and the referral
       response for the legacy delegation MUST be processed as would be
       done with legacy DNS and DNSSEC processing.

       Otherwise, the subzone may be more than one label below the
       delegating zone.

       A new deleg query MUST be spawned, matching the zone cut of the
       initial referral response.  For example if the triggering query
       is www.university.ac.example. and the target zone example., and
       the legacy response contained an NS RRset for
       university.ac.example., then the deleg query name is
       university.ac._deleg.example.  The response to the new deleg
       query MUST be processed as described above, as if it was the
       initial deleg query.

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       If the legacy query was sent minimised and needs a followup
       query, then parallel to that followup query a new deleg query
       will be sent, adding a single label to the previous deleg query
       name.  For example if the triggering query is
       www.university.ac.example. and the target zone is example. and
       the minimised legacy query name is ac.example. (which also
       resulted in a NOERROR no answer response), then the deleg query
       to be sent along in parallel with the followup legacy query will
       become university.ac._deleg.example.  Processing of the responses
       of those two new queries will be done as described above.

5.2.  _deleg label presence

   Absence of the _deleg label in a zone is a clear signal that the zone
   does not contain any IDELEG delegations.  Recursive resolvers SHOULD
   NOT send any additional deleg queries for zones for which it is known
   that it does not contain the _deleg label at the apex.  The state
   regarding the presence of the _deleg label within a resolver can be
   "unknown", "known not to be present", or "known to be present".

   The state regarding the presence of the _deleg label can be deduced
   from the response of the deleg query, if the target zone is signed
   with DNSSEC. *No* additional queries are needed.  If the target zone
   is unsigned, the procedure as described in the remainder of this
   section SHOULD be followed.

5.2.1.  Test _deleg label presence (unsigned zones only)

   When the presence of a _deleg label is "unknown", a _deleg presence
   test query SHOULD be sent in parallel to the next query for the
   unsigned target zone (though not when the target name server is known
   to support _deleg, which is discussed in Authoritative name server
   support (Section 4)).  The query name for the test query is the
   _deleg label prepended to the apex of zone for which to test
   presence, with query type NS.

   The testing query can have three possible outcomes:

   1.  The _deleg label does not exist within the zone, and an NXDOMAIN
       response is returned.

       The non-existence of the _deleg label MUST be registered for the
       duration indicated by the "minimum" RDATA field of the SOA
       resource record in the authority section, adjusted to the
       boundaries for TTL values that the resolver has (Section 4 of
       [RFC8767]).  For the period the non-existence of the _deleg label
       is cached, the label is "known not to be present" and the
       resolver SHOULD NOT send any (additional) deleg queries.

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   2.  The _deleg label does exist within the zone but contains no data.
       A NOERROR response is returned with no RRs in the answer section.

       The existence of the _deleg name MUST be cached for the duration
       indicated by the "minimum" RDATA field of the SOA resource record
       in the authority section, adjusted to the resolver's TTL
       boundaries (Section 4 of [RFC8767]).  For the period the
       existence of the empty non-terminal at the _deleg label is
       cached, the label is "known to be present".

   3.  The _deleg label does exist within the zone, but is a delegation.
       A NOERROR legacy referral response is returned with an NS RRset
       in the authority section.

       The resolver MUST record that the zone does not have valid IDELEG
       delegations deployed for the duration indicated by the NS RRset's
       TTL value, adjusted to the resolver's TTL boundaries (Section 4
       of [RFC8767]).  For the period indicated by the NS RRset's TTL
       value, the zone is considered to *not* to have valid IDELEG
       delegations, and MUST NOT send any (additional) deleg queries.

5.3.  Summary

   Table Table 1 provides an overview of when additional queries,
   following a non-IDELEG referral response, are sent.

   +===+=========+==========+===+=====================+================+
   |   |   auth  |  _deleg  | | | <sub>._deleg.<apex> | _deleg.<apex>  |
   |   | support | presence |   |        IDELEG       |       A        |
   +===+=========+==========+===+=====================+================+
   | 1 |   Yes   |    *     | | |                     |                |
   +---+---------+----------+---+---------------------+----------------+
   | 2 |    No   |    No    | | |                     |                |
   +---+---------+----------+---+---------------------+----------------+
   | 3 |    No   |   Yes    | | |          X          |                |
   +---+---------+----------+---+---------------------+----------------+
   | 4 |    No   | Unknown  | | |          X          |    only for    |
   |   |         |          |   |                     |    unsigned    |
   |   |         |          |   |                     |     zones      |
   +---+---------+----------+---+---------------------+----------------+

       Table 1: Additional queries to an non-IDELEG referral response

   The two headers on the left side of the table mean the following:

   auth support:

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      Whether or not the target authoritative server supports
      incremental deleg.  "Yes" means support is registered and "No"
      means support is not registered.

   _deleg presence:
      Whether or not the _deleg label is present in the target zone (and
      thus incremental delegations) "Yes" means it is present, "No"
      means it is not present, "Unknown" means this is not yet known and
      "*" means it doesn't matter.

   On the right side of the table are the additional follow-up queries,
   to be sent in response to non-IDELEG referrals.  The _deleg presence
   test query (most right column) only needs to be sent to unsigned
   target zones, because its non-existence will be shown in the NSEC(3)
   records showing the non-existence of the incremental delegation
   (second from right column).

   If the query name is the same as the apex of the target zone, or the
   response is a non-referral response, no additional queries need to be
   sent.  Otherwise:

   1.  If the authoritative name server supports IDELEG (Row 1), no
       additional queries need to be sent.

   2.  If the _deleg label is known not to exist in the target zone (Row
       2), no additional queries need to be sent.

   3.  If the _deleg label is known to exist in the target zone, but
       there was no authoritative name server support in the referral
       response (Row 3), an additional deleg query (Section 5.1) needs
       to be sent.

   4.  If it is not known whether or not the _delewg label exists, and
       there was no authoritative name server support in the referral
       response (Row 4), an additional deleg query (Section 5.1) needs
       to be sent.  If the target zone is unsigned, presence of the
       _deleg label needs to be tested explicitly as well (Section 5.2).

5.3.1.  Reduced latency

   Latency can be reduced with one round trip when the deleg query is
   sent in parallel to the legacy query.  This will induce more
   additional queries since authoritative name server support
   (eliminating the need to send deleg queries), is detected from the
   legacy query.

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6.  Priming queries

   Some zones, such as the root zone, are targeted directly from hints
   files.  Information about which authoritative name servers and with
   capabilities, MAY be provided in an IDELEG RRset directly at the
   _deleg label under the apex of the zone.  Priming queries from an
   deleg supporting resolver, MUST send an _deleg.<apex> IDELEG query in
   parallel to the legacy <apex> NS query and process the content as if
   it was found through an referral response.

7.  Limitations

   The presence of the _deleg label in the delegation information
   reduces that maximum length of a domain name for a zone to 248 bytes.
   Note that names within zones are not limited and can still be 255
   bytes.

8.  How does the protocol described in this draft meet the requirements

   This section will discuss how deleg meets the requirements for a new
   delegation mechanism as described in [I-D.ietf-deleg-requirements-02]

   *  H1.  DELEG must not disrupt the existing registration model of
      domains.

      The existing zone structure including the concept of delegations
      from a parent zone to a child zone is left unchanged.

   *  H2.  DELEG must be backwards compatible with the existing
      ecosystem.

      The new delegations do not interfere with legacy software.

      The behavior of deleg supporting resolvers includes a fallback to
      NS records if no IDELEG delegation is present (See Section 5.1).

   *  H3.  DELEG must not negatively impact most DNS software.

      Deleg introduces a new RR type.  Software that parses zone file
      format needs to be changed to support the new type.  Though
      unknown type notation [RFC3597] can be used in some cases if no
      support for the new RR type is present.  Existing authoritatives
      can serve IDELEG zones (though less efficiently), existing signers
      can sign IDELEG zones, existing diagnostic tools can query IDELEG
      zones.  Non-recursive DNSSEC validators can operate independently
      from (possibly legacy) recursive resolvers.

   *  H4.  DELEG must be able to secure delegations with DNSSEC.

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      IDELEG delegations as described in this document are automatically
      secured with DNSSEC (if the parent zone is signed).  A replacement
      for DS records is described in
      [I-D.homburg-deleg-incremental-dnssec].

   *  H5.  DELEG must support updates to delegation information with the
      same relative ease as currently exists with NS records.

      IDELEG delegations are affected by TTL like any other DNS record.

   *  H6.  DELEG must be incrementally deployable and not require any
      sort of flag day of universal change.

      IDELEG zones can be added without upgrading authoritatives.
      IDELEG zones still work with old resolvers and validators.
      Basically any combination of old and new should work, though with
      reduced efficiency for some combinations.

   *  H7.  DELEG must allow multiple independent operators to
      simultaneously serve a zone.

      Deleg allows for multiple IDELEG records.  This allows multiple
      operators to serve the zone.

   *  S1.  DELEG should facilitate the use of new DNS transport
      mechanisms

      New transports are already defined for the DNS mode of SVCB
      ([RFC9461]).  The same parameters are used for IDELEG.

   *  S2.  DELEG should make clear all of the necessary details for
      contacting a service

      Most of the needed SVCB parameters are already defined in existing
      standards.  The exception is a replacement for the DS records,
      which is described in [I-D.homburg-deleg-incremental-dnssec].

   *  S3.  DELEG should minimize transaction cost in its usage.

      Assuming Qname-minimisation, there are no extra queries needed in
      most cases if the authoritative name server has deleg support.
      The exception is when the parent zone is not signed and has no
      IDELEG records.  In that case, one extra query is needed when the
      parent zone is first contacted (and every TTL).

      Additional queries may be needed to resolve aliases.

   *  S4.  DELEG should simplify management of a zone's DNS service.

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      Zone management can be simplified using the alias mode of IDELEG.
      This allows the zone operator to change the details of the
      delegation without involving the parent zone.

      Draft [I-D.homburg-deleg-incremental-dnssec] defines the dnskeyref
      parameter which offers the same simplification for DNSSEC
      delegations.

   *  S5.  DELEG should allow for backward compatibility to the
      conventional NS-based delegation mechanism.

      NS records and glue can be extracted from the IDELEG record
      assuming no aliasing is used.

      The ds parameter in [I-D.homburg-deleg-incremental-dnssec] has the
      same value as the rdata of a DS record.

   *  S6.  DELEG should be extensible and allow for the easy incremental
      addition of new delegation features after initial deployment.

      SVCB-style records are extensible by design.

   *  S7.  DELEG should be able to convey a security model for
      delegations stronger than currently exists with DNSSEC.

      IDELEG delegations are protected by DNSSEC, unlike NS records at
      the parent zone.

9.  Implementation Status

   *Note to the RFC Editor*: please remove this entire section before
   publication.

   We are using RR type code 65280 for experiments.

   Jesse van Zutphen has built a proof of concept implementation
   supporting IDELEG delegations as specified in a previous version of
   this document [I-D.homburg-deleg-incremental-deleg-00] for the
   Unbound recursive resolver as part of his master thesis for the
   Security and Network Engineering master program of the University of
   Amsterdam [JZUTPHEN].  Jesse's implementation has been adapted to
   query for the IDELEG RR types (with code point 65280).  This version
   is available in the ideleg branch of the NLnetLabs/unbound github
   repository [IDELEG4UNBOUND].  Note that this implementation does not
   yet respond to support in the authoritative Authoritative name server
   support (Section 4), and also does not yet follow AliasMode IDELEG
   RRs.

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   The ldns DNS library and tools software has been extended with
   support for IDELEG, which is available in the features/ideleg branch
   of the NLnetLabs/ldns github repository [IDELEG4LDNS].  This includes
   support for IDELEG in the DNS lookup utility drill, as well as in the
   DNSSEC zone signer ldns-signzone and all other tools and examples
   included with the ldns software.

   Wouter Petri has built a proof of concept support for IDELEG in the
   NSD authoritative name server software as part of a research project
   for the Security and Network Engineering master program of the
   University of Amsterdam [WPETRI].  The source code of his
   implementation is available on github [IDELEG4NSD].

   Wouter's implementation is serving the ideleg.net. domain, containing
   a variety of different IDELEG delegations, for evaluation purposes.
   We are planning to provide information about the deployment,
   including what software to evaluate these delegations, at
   http://ideleg.net/ (http://ideleg.net/), hopefully before the IETF
   122 in Bangkok (https://datatracker.ietf.org/meeting/122/
   proceedings).

10.  Security Considerations

   Deleg moves the location of referral information to a unique location
   that currently exists.  However, as this is a new approach, thought
   must be given to usage.  There must be some checks to ensure that the
   registering a _deleg subdomain happens at the time the domain is
   provisioned.  The same care needs to be addressed when a domain is
   de-provisioned that the _deleg is removed.  This is similar to what
   happens to A/AAAA glue records for NS records deployed in parent
   zones.

   While the recommendation is to deploy DNSSEC with deleg, it is not
   mandatory.  However, using deleg with unsigned zones can create
   possibilities of domain hijackings.  This could be hard to detect
   when not speaking directly to the authoritative name server.  This
   risk of domain hijacking is not expected to increase significantly
   compared to the situation without deleg.

   There are bound to be other considerations.

11.  IANA Considerations

11.1.  IDELEG RR type

   IANA is requested to update the "Resource Record (RR) TYPEs" registry
   under the "Domain Name System (DNS) Parameters" registry group as
   follows:

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             +========+=======+============+=================+
             | TYPE   | Value | Meaning    | Reference       |
             +========+=======+============+=================+
             | IDELEG | TBD   | Delegation | [this document] |
             +--------+-------+------------+-----------------+

                                  Table 2

11.2.  _deleg Node Name

   Per [RFC8552], IANA is requested to add the following entry to the
   DNS "Underscored and Globally Scoped DNS Node Names" registry:

                +=========+============+=================+
                | RR Type | _NODE NAME | Reference       |
                +=========+============+=================+
                | IDELEG  | _deleg     | [this document] |
                +---------+------------+-----------------+

                  Table 3: Entry in the Underscored and
                      Globally Scoped DNS Node Names
                                 registry

12.  References

12.1.  Normative References

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2119>.

   [RFC3597]  Gustafsson, A., "Handling of Unknown DNS Resource Record
              (RR) Types", RFC 3597, DOI 10.17487/RFC3597, September
              2003, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3597>.

   [RFC6672]  Rose, S. and W. Wijngaards, "DNAME Redirection in the
              DNS", RFC 6672, DOI 10.17487/RFC6672, June 2012,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6672>.

   [RFC7858]  Hu, Z., Zhu, L., Heidemann, J., Mankin, A., Wessels, D.,
              and P. Hoffman, "Specification for DNS over Transport
              Layer Security (TLS)", RFC 7858, DOI 10.17487/RFC7858, May
              2016, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7858>.

   [RFC8174]  Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC
              2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174,
              May 2017, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8174>.

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   [RFC8484]  Hoffman, P. and P. McManus, "DNS Queries over HTTPS
              (DoH)", RFC 8484, DOI 10.17487/RFC8484, October 2018,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8484>.

   [RFC8767]  Lawrence, D., Kumari, W., and P. Sood, "Serving Stale Data
              to Improve DNS Resiliency", RFC 8767,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8767, March 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8767>.

   [RFC9250]  Huitema, C., Dickinson, S., and A. Mankin, "DNS over
              Dedicated QUIC Connections", RFC 9250,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC9250, May 2022,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9250>.

   [RFC9460]  Schwartz, B., Bishop, M., and E. Nygren, "Service Binding
              and Parameter Specification via the DNS (SVCB and HTTPS
              Resource Records)", RFC 9460, DOI 10.17487/RFC9460,
              November 2023, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9460>.

   [RFC9461]  Schwartz, B., "Service Binding Mapping for DNS Servers",
              RFC 9461, DOI 10.17487/RFC9461, November 2023,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9461>.

   [STD13]    Internet Standard 13,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/std13>.
              At the time of writing, this STD comprises the following:

              Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - concepts and facilities",
              STD 13, RFC 1034, DOI 10.17487/RFC1034, November 1987,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1034>.

              Mockapetris, P., "Domain names - implementation and
              specification", STD 13, RFC 1035, DOI 10.17487/RFC1035,
              November 1987, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1035>.

12.2.  Informative References

   [BCP219]   Best Current Practice 219,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/bcp219>.
              At the time of writing, this BCP comprises the following:

              Hoffman, P. and K. Fujiwara, "DNS Terminology", BCP 219,
              RFC 9499, DOI 10.17487/RFC9499, March 2024,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9499>.

   [I-D.homburg-deleg-incremental-deleg-00]
              Homburg, P., van Zutphen, J., and W. Toorop,
              "Incrementally Deployable Extensible Delegation for DNS",

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              Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-homburg-deleg-
              incremental-deleg-00, 8 July 2024,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-homburg-
              deleg-incremental-deleg-00>.

   [I-D.homburg-deleg-incremental-dnssec]
              Homburg, P. and W. Toorop, "Incrementally Deployable
              DNSSEC Delegation", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
              draft-homburg-deleg-incremental-dnssec-00, 16 January
              2025, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-
              homburg-deleg-incremental-dnssec-00>.

   [I-D.ietf-deleg-requirements-02]
              Lawrence, Lewis, E., Reid, J., and T. Wicinski, "Problem
              Statement and Requirements for an Improved DNS Delegation
              Mechanism abbrev: DNS DELEG Requirements", Work in
              Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-deleg-requirements-
              02, 12 October 2024,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-deleg-
              requirements-02>.

   [I-D.ietf-dnsop-ns-revalidation]
              Huque, S., Vixie, P. A., and W. Toorop, "Delegation
              Revalidation by DNS Resolvers", Work in Progress,
              Internet-Draft, draft-ietf-dnsop-ns-revalidation-09, 27
              February 2025, <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/
              draft-ietf-dnsop-ns-revalidation-09>.

   [I-D.ietf-tls-esni]
              Rescorla, E., Oku, K., Sullivan, N., and C. A. Wood, "TLS
              Encrypted Client Hello", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft,
              draft-ietf-tls-esni-24, 20 March 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-ietf-tls-
              esni-24>.

   [I-D.tapril-ns2]
              April, T., "Parameterized Nameserver Delegation with NS2
              and NS2T", Work in Progress, Internet-Draft, draft-tapril-
              ns2-01, 13 July 2020,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-tapril-
              ns2-01>.

   [I-D.wesplaap-deleg]
              April, T., Špaček, P., Weber, R., and Lawrence,
              "Extensible Delegation for DNS", Work in Progress,
              Internet-Draft, draft-wesplaap-deleg-02, 18 February 2025,
              <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/draft-wesplaap-
              deleg-02>.

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   [IDELEG4LDNS]
              Toorop, W., "A proof of concept support for IDELEG in the
              ldns DNS library and tools", n.d.,
              <https://github.com/NLnetLabs/ldns/tree/features/ideleg>.

   [IDELEG4NSD]
              Petri, W., "A proof of concept support for IDELEG in the
              NSD authoritative name server software", n.d.,
              <https://github.com/WP-Official/nsd>.

   [IDELEG4UNBOUND]
              van Zutphen, J. and P. Homburg, "A proof of concept
              implementation of incremental deleg", n.d.,
              <https://github.com/NLnetLabs/unbound/tree/ideleg>.

   [JZUTPHEN] van Zutphen, J., "Extensible delegations in DNS Recursive
              resolvers", n.d.,
              <https://nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/publications/extensible-
              deleg-in-resolvers_2024-07-08.pdf>.

   [RFC8552]  Crocker, D., "Scoped Interpretation of DNS Resource
              Records through "Underscored" Naming of Attribute Leaves",
              BCP 222, RFC 8552, DOI 10.17487/RFC8552, March 2019,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8552>.

   [WPETRI]   Petri, W., "Extensible delegations in authoritative
              nameservers", n.d.,
              <https://nlnetlabs.nl/downloads/publications/extensible-
              delegations-in-authoritative-nameservers_2025-02-09.pdf>.

Acknowledgments

   The idea to utilize SVCB based RRs to signal capabilities was first
   proposed by Tim April in [I-D.tapril-ns2].

   The idea to utilize SVCB for IDELEG delegations (and also the idea
   described in this document) emerged from the DNS Hackathon at the
   IETF 118.  The following participants contributed to this brainstorm
   session: Vandan Adhvaryu, Roy Arends, David Blacka, Manu Bretelle,
   Vladimír Čunát, Klaus Darilion, Peter van Dijk, Christian Elmerot,
   Bob Halley, Philip Homburg, Shumon Huque, Shane Kerr, David C
   Lawrence, Edward Lewis, George Michaelson, Erik Nygren, Libor Peltan,
   Ben Schwartz, Petr Špaček, Jan Včelák and Ralf Weber

Authors' Addresses

   Philip Homburg
   NLnet Labs

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   Email: philip@nlnetlabs.nl

   Tim Wicinski
   Cox Communications
   Email: tjw.ietf@gmail.com

   Jesse van Zutphen
   University of Amsterdam
   Email: Jesse.vanZutphen@os3.nl

   Willem Toorop
   NLnet Labs
   Email: willem@nlnetlabs.nl

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