Skip to main content

Extensible Delegation for DNS
draft-ietf-deleg-01

Document Type Active Internet-Draft (deleg WG)
Authors Tim April , Petr Špaček , Ralf Weber , David C Lawrence
Last updated 2025-07-09 (Latest revision 2025-07-07)
Replaces draft-wesplaap-deleg
RFC stream Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Intended RFC status (None)
Formats
Additional resources GitHub Repository
Mailing list discussion
Stream WG state WG Document
Document shepherd (None)
IESG IESG state I-D Exists
Consensus boilerplate Unknown
Telechat date (None)
Responsible AD (None)
Send notices to (None)
draft-ietf-deleg-01
deleg                                                           T. April
Internet-Draft                                               Google, LLC
Updates: 1034, 1035, 6672, 6840 (if approved)                  P. Špaček
Intended status: Standards Track                                     ISC
Expires: 8 January 2026                                         R. Weber
                                                     Akamai Technologies
                                                             D. Lawrence
                                                              Salesforce
                                                             7 July 2025

                     Extensible Delegation for DNS
                          draft-ietf-deleg-01

Abstract

   A delegation in the Domain Name System (DNS) is a mechanism that
   enables efficient and distributed management of the DNS namespace.
   It involves delegating authority over subdomains to specific DNS
   servers via NS records, allowing for a hierarchical structure and
   distributing the responsibility for maintaining DNS records.

   An NS record contains the hostname of the nameserver for the
   delegated namespace.  Any facilities of that nameserver must be
   discovered through other mechanisms.  This document proposes a new
   extensible DNS record type, DELEG, for delegation of the authority
   for a domain.  Future documents then can use this mechanism to use
   additional information about the delegated namespace and the
   capabilities of authoritative nameservers for the delegated
   namespace.

About This Document

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

   The latest revision of this draft can be found at https://github.com/
   ietf-wg-deleg/draft-ietf-deleg-base/tree/gh-pages.  Status
   information for this document may be found at
   https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-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/.

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

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 1]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

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 8 January 2026.

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
   described in Section 4.e of the Trust Legal Provisions and are
   provided without warranty as described in the Revised BSD License.

Table of Contents

   1.  Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.  DELEG Record Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     2.1.  Differences from SVCB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   3.  Use of DELEG record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     3.1.  Resolvers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
       3.1.1.  Signaling DELEG support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
       3.1.2.  Referral  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       3.1.3.  Parent-side types, QTYPE=DELEG  . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       3.1.4.  Algorithm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     3.2.  Authoritative Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       3.2.1.  DELEG-unaware Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       3.2.2.  DELEG-aware Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
     3.3.  DNSSEC Signers  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
     3.4.  DNSSEC Validators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 2]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

       3.4.1.  Clarifications on Nonexistence Proofs . . . . . . . .  10
       3.4.2.  Insecure Delegation Proofs  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
       3.4.3.  Referral downgrade protection . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
       3.4.4.  Chaining  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   4.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   5.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     5.1.  Normative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
     5.2.  Informative References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   Appendix A.  Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     A.1.  Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
     A.2.  DO bit clear, DE bit clear  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
       A.2.1.  Query for foo.example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
       A.2.2.  Query for foo.test  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
     A.3.  DO bit set, DE bit clear  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
       A.3.1.  Query for foo.example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
       A.3.2.  Query for foo.test  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
     A.4.  DO bit clear, DE bit set  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
       A.4.1.  Query for foo.example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
       A.4.2.  Query for foo.test  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
     A.5.  DO bit set, DE bit set  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
       A.5.1.  Query for foo.example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
       A.5.2.  Query for foo.test  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   Appendix B.  Acknowledgments {:unnumbered}  . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   Appendix C.  TODO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   Appendix D.  Change Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
     D.1.  since draft-wesplaap-deleg-00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
     D.2.  since draft-wesplaap-deleg-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   Contributors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   Authors' Addresses  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21

1.  Introduction

   In the Domain Name System [STD13], subdomains within the domain name
   hierarchy are indicated by delegations to servers which are
   authoritative for their portion of the namespace.  The DNS records
   that do this, called NS records, contain hostnames of nameservers,
   which resolve to addresses.  No other information is available to the
   resolver.  It is limited to connect to the authoritative servers over
   UDP and TCP port 53.  This limitation is a barrier for efficient
   introduction of new DNS technology.

   The proposed DELEG record type remedies this problem by providing
   extensible parameters to indicate capabilities and additional
   information, such as glue that a resolver may use for the delegated
   authority.  It is authoritative and thus signed in the parent side of
   the delegation making it possible to validate all delegation
   parameters (names and glue records) with DNSSEC.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 3]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   This document only shows how DELEG can be used instead of or along
   side a NS record to create a delegation.  Future documents can use
   the extensible mechanism for more advanced features like connecting
   to a name server with an encrypted transport.

1.1.  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.

   Terminology regarding the Domain Name System comes from [BCP219],
   with addition terms defined here:

   *  legacy name servers: An authoritative server that does not support
      the DELEG record.

   *  legacy resolvers: A resolver that does not support the DELEG
      record.

2.  DELEG Record Type

   The DELEG record uses a new resource record type, whose contents are
   identical to the SVCB record defined in [RFC9460].  For extensions
   SVCB and DELEG use Service Parameter Keys (SvcParamKeys) and new
   SvcParamKeys that might be needed also will use the existing IANA
   Registry.

2.1.  Differences from SVCB

   *  DELEG can only have two priorities 0 indicating INCLUDE and 1
      indicating a DIRECT delegation.  These terms MUST be used in the
      presentation format of the DELEG record.

   *  INCLUDE and DIRECT delegation can be mixed within an RRSet.

   *  The final INCLUDE target is an SVCB record, though there can be
      further indirection using CNAME or AliasMode SVCB records.

   *  There can be multiple INCLUDE DELEG records, but further
      indirections through SVCB records have to comply with [RFC9460] in
      that there can be only one AliasMode SVCB record per name.

   *  In order to not allow unbounded indirection of DELEG records the
      maximum number of indirections, CNAME or AliasMode SVCB is 4.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 4]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   *  The SVCB IPv4hint and IPv6hint parameters keep their key values of
      4 and 6, but the presentation format with DELEG MUST be Glue4 and
      Glue6.

   *  Glue4 and Glue6 records when present MUST be used to connect to
      the delegated name server.

   *  The target of any DELEG record MUST NOT be '.'

   *  The target of a DELEG INCLUDE record MUST be outside of the
      delegated domain.

   *  The target of a DELEG DIRECT record MUST be a domain below the
      delegated domain.

3.  Use of DELEG record

   A DELEG RRset MAY be present at a delegation point.  The DELEG RRset
   MAY contain multiple records.  DELEG RRsets MUST NOT appear at a
   zone's apex.

   A DELEG RRset MAY be present with or without NS or DS RRsets at the
   delegation point.

3.1.  Resolvers

3.1.1.  Signaling DELEG support

   A resolver that is DELEG aware MUST signal its support by sending the
   DE bit when iterating.

   This bit is referred to as the "DELEG" (DE) bit.  In the context of
   the EDNS0 OPT meta-RR, the DE bit is the TBD of the "extended RCODE
   and flags" portion of the EDNS0 OPT meta-RR, structured as follows
   (to be updated when assigned):

               +0 (MSB)                +1 (LSB)
        +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     0: |   EXTENDED-RCODE      |       VERSION         |
        +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
     2: |DO|CO|DE|              Z                       |
        +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+

   Setting the DE bit to one in a query indicates the resolver
   understands new DELEG semantics and does not need NS RR to follow a
   referral.  The DE bit cleared (set to zero) indicates the resolver is
   unprepared to handle DELEG and hence can only be served NS, DS and
   glue in a delegation response.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 5]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   Motivation: For a long time there will be both DELEG and NS needed
   for delegation.  As both methods should be configured to get to a
   proper resolution it is not necessary to send both in a referral
   response.  We therefore purpose an EDNS flag to be use similar to the
   DO Bit for DNSSEC to be used to signal that the sender understands
   DELEG and does not need NS or glue information in the referral.

3.1.2.  Referral

   The DELEG record creates a zone cut similar to the NS record.

   If a DELEG record exists on a given delegation point, all record
   types defined as authoritative in the child zone MUST be resolved
   using the name servers defined in the DELEG record.  In such case
   resolver MUST NOT use NS records even if they happen to be present in
   cache, even if resolution using DELEG records have failed for some
   reason.  Such fallback from DELEG to NS would invalidate security
   guarantees of DELEG protocol.

   If no DELEG record exists on a given delegation point resolver MUST
   use NS records as specified by RFC1034.

3.1.3.  Parent-side types, QTYPE=DELEG

   Record types defined as authoritative on the parent side of zone cut
   (currently DS and DELEG types) retain the same special handling as
   before, i.e. [RFC4035] section 2.6 applies.

   DELEG unaware recursive resolvers will not be able to determine
   correct NS set for QTYPE=DELEG queries.  This is not a bug.

3.1.4.  Algorithm

   This section updates instructions for step "2.  Find the best servers
   to ask." of RFC1034 section 5.3.3 and [RFC6672] section 3.4.1.

   There are two important details:

   *  The algorithm description should explicitly describe RR types
      authoritative at the parent side of a zone cut.  This is implied
      by [RFC4035] section 3.1.4.1 for DS RR type but the text in the
      algorithm description was not updated.  DELEG specification simply
      extends this existing behavior to DELEG RR type as well, and makes
      this special case explicit.

   *  When DELEG RRset exists, NS RRset is ignored on that particular
      zone cut by DELEG aware resolvers.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 6]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   *  DELEG and NS RR types can be used differently at each delegation
      level and resolver MUST be able follow chain of delegations which
      combines them in arbitrary ways.

   Example of a valid delegation tree:

   ; root zone with NS-only delegations
   . SOA ...
   test. NS ...

   ; test. zone with NS+DELEG delegations
   test. SOA ...
   sld.test. NS ...
   sld.test. DELEG ...

   ; sld.test. zone with NS-only delegation
   sld.test. SOA ...
   nssub.sld.test. NS ...

   ; nssub.sld.test. zone with DELEG-only delegation
   delegsub.sub.sld.test. DELEG ...

   Terms SNAME and SLIST used in the rest of this section are defined in
   RFC 1034 section 5.3.2.:

   SNAME the domain name we are searching for.

   SLIST a structure which describes the name servers and the zone which
   the resolver is currently trying to query.

   Modified description of Step 2.  Find the best servers to ask
   follows:

   Step 2 looks for a name server to ask for the required data.

   First determine deepest possible zone cut which can potentially hold
   the answer for given (query name, type, class) combination:

   *  Start with SNAME equal to QNAME.

   *  If QTYPE is a type authoritative at the parent side of a zone cut
      (DS or DELEG), remove leftmost label from SNAME.  E.g. if QNAME is
      Test.Example. and QTYPE is DELEG or DS, set SNAME to Example.

   *  TODO: what to do about ".  DELEG" (or DS) query?  That leaves zero
      labels left.  That by definition does not exist ...

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 7]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   Further general strategy is to look for locally-available DELEG and
   NS RRsets, starting at current SNAME.  If none are found, shorten
   SNAME by removing leftmost label and check again.  This effectivelly
   finds the deepest known delegation point on the path between SNAME
   and the root:

   *  For given SNAME first check existence of DELEG RRset.  If it
      exists, resolver MUST use it's content to populate SLIST.  If the
      DELEG RRset is known to exist but is unusable (e.g. it is found in
      DNSSEC BAD cache), resolver MUST NOT fallback to NS RRset, even if
      it is locally available.  Resolver MUST treat this case as if no
      servers were available/reachable.

   *  If a given SNAME is proven to not have a DELEG RRset but has NS
      RRset, resolver MUST copy it into SLIST.

   *  If SLIST is populated, terminate walk up the DNS tree.

   *  If SLIST is not populated, remove leftmost label from SNAME and
      inspect RR types for this new SNAME.

   Rest of the Step 2's description is not affected by this document.

   Please note the instructions to "Bound the amount of work" further
   down in the original text to apply.  Suitable limits MUST be enforced
   to limit damage EVEN IF SOMEONE HAS INCORRECTLY CONFIGURED SOME DATA.

3.2.  Authoritative Servers

   DELEG-aware authoritative servers act differently when handling
   queries from DELEG-unaware clients (those with DE=0) and queries from
   DELEG-aware clients (those with DE=1).

   The server MUST copy the value of the DE bit from the query into the
   response.  (TODO: not really necessary protocol-wise, but might be
   nice for monitoring the deployment?)

3.2.1.  DELEG-unaware Clients

   DELEG-unaware clients do not use DELEG records for delegation.  When
   a DELEG-aware authoritative server responds to a DELEG-unaware
   client, any DELEG RR in the response does not create zone cut, is not
   returned in referral responses, and is not considered authoritative
   on the parent side of a zone cut.  Because of this, DELEG-aware
   authoritative servers MUST answer as if they are DELEG-unaware.
   Please note this instruction does not affect DNSSEC signing, i.e. no
   special handling for NSEC type bitmap is necessary and DELEG RR type
   is accuratelly represented even for DELEG-unaware clients.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 8]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   Two surprising narrow cases of DELEG-aware authoritative responding
   in DELEG-unaware manner are described here.

3.2.1.1.  DELEG-unaware Clients Requesting QTYPE=DELEG

   In DELEG-unaware clients, records with the DELEG RRtype are not
   authoritative on the parent side.  Thus, queries with DE=0 and
   QTYPE=DELEG MUST result in a legacy referral response.

3.2.1.2.  DELEG-unaware Clients with DELEG RRs Present but No NS RRs

   DELEG-unaware clients might ask for a name which belongs to a zone
   delegated only with DELEG RRs (that is, without any NS RRs).  Such
   zone is, by definition, not resolvable for DELEG-unaware clients.  In
   this case the DELEG RR itself cannot create a zone cut, and the
   DELEG-aware authoritative server MUST return a legacy response.

   The legacy response might be confusing for subdomains of zones which
   actually exist because DELEG-aware clients would get a different
   answer, namely a delegation.  Example of a legacy response is in
   Appendix A.3.2.

   The authoritative server is RECOMMENDED to supplement DELEG unaware
   response with Extended DNS Error "New Delegation Only".

   TODO: debate if WG wants to do explicit SERVFAIL for this case
   instead of 'just' EDE.

3.2.2.  DELEG-aware Clients

   When the client indicates that it is DELEG-aware by setting DE=1 in
   the query, DELEG-aware authoritative servers treat DELEG records as
   zone cuts, and the servers are authoritative on parent side of zone
   cut.  This new zone cut has priority over legacy delegation with NS
   RRset.

3.2.2.1.  DELEG-aware Clients Requesting QTYPE=DELEG

   An explicit query for DELEG RR type at a delegation point behaves
   much like query for DS RR type: the server answers authortiatively
   from the parent zone.  All previous specifications for special
   handling QTYPE=DS apply equally to QTYPE=DELEG.  In summary, server
   either provides authoritative DELEG RRset or proves its non-
   existence.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                 [Page 9]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

3.2.2.2.  Delegation with DELEG

   If the delegation has a DELEG RRset, the authoritative server MUST
   put the DELEG RRset into the Authority section of the referral.  In
   this case, the server MUST NOT include the NS RRset into the
   Authority section.  Presence of the covering RRSIG follows the normal
   DNSSEC specification for answers with authoritative zone data.

   Similarly, rules for DS RRset inclusion into referrals apply as
   specified by DNSSEC protocol.

3.2.2.3.  DELEG-aware Clients with NS RRs Present but No DELEG RRs

   If the delegation does not have a DELEG RRset, the authoritative
   server MUST put the NS RRset into the authority section of the
   referral.  Absence of DELEG RRset must be proven as specified by
   DNSSEC protocol for authoritative data.

   Similarly, rules for DS RRset inclusion into referrals apply as
   specified by the DNSSEC protocol.  Please note in practice the same
   process and records are used to prove non-existence of DELEG and DS
   RRsets.

3.3.  DNSSEC Signers

   The DELEG record is authoritative on the parent side of a zone cut
   and needs to be signed as such.  Existing rules from DNSSEC
   specification apply.  In summary: For DNSSEC signing, treat DELEG RR
   type the same way as DS RR type.

   In order to protect validators from downgrade attacks this draft
   introduces a new DNSKEY flag ADT (Authoritative Delegation Types).
   In zones which contain a DELEG RRset this flag MUST be set to one in
   at least one DNSKEYs published in the zone.

3.4.  DNSSEC Validators

   DELEG awareness introduces additional requirements on validators.

3.4.1.  Clarifications on Nonexistence Proofs

   This document updates [RFC6840] section 4.1 to include "NS or DELEG"
   types in type bitmap as indication of a delegation point and
   generalizes applicability of Ancestor delegation proof to all types
   authoritative at parent (i.e. DS and DELEG).  Updated text follows:

   An "ancestor delegation" NSEC RR (or NSEC3 RR) is one with:

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 10]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   *  the NS and/or DELEG bit set,

   *  the Start of Authority (SOA) bit clear, and

   *  a signer field that is shorter than the owner name of the NSEC RR,
      or the original owner name for the NSEC3 RR.

   Ancestor delegation NSEC or NSEC3 RRs MUST NOT be used to assume
   nonexistence of any RRs below that zone cut, which include all RRs at
   that (original) owner name other types authoritative at the parent-
   side of zone cut (DS and DELEG), and all RRs below that owner name
   regardless of type.

3.4.2.  Insecure Delegation Proofs

   This document updates [RFC6840] section 4.4 to include secure DELEG
   support and explicitly states Opt-Out is not applicable to DELEG.
   Updated text follows:

   Section 5.2 of [RFC4035] specifies that a validator, when proving a
   delegation is not secure, needs to check for the absence of the DS
   and SOA bits in the NSEC (or NSEC3) type bitmap.  The validator also
   MUST check for the presence of the NS or DELEG bit in the matching
   NSEC (or NSEC3) RR (proving that there is, indeed, a delegation).
   Alternately make sure that the delegation with NS record is covered
   by an NSEC3 RR with the Opt-Out flag set.  Opt-Out is not applicable
   to DELEG RR type because this it is authoritative at the parent side
   of a zone cut in the same say as DS RR type.

3.4.3.  Referral downgrade protection

   When DNSKEY flag ADT is set to one, the DELEG aware validator MUST
   prove absence of a DELEG RRset in referral responses from this zone.

   Without this check, an attacker could strip DELEG RRset from a
   referral response and replace it with an unsigned (and potentially
   malicious) NS RRset.  A referral response with an unsigned NS and
   signed DS RRsets does not require additional proofs of nonexistance
   according to pre-DELEG DNSSEC specification and it would have been
   accepted as a delegation without DELEG RRset.

3.4.4.  Chaining

   A Validating Stub Resolver that is DELEG aware has to use a Security-
   Aware Resolver that is DELEG aware and if it is behind a forwarder
   this has to be security and DELEG aware as well.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 11]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

4.  IANA Considerations

   IANA is requested to allocate the DELEG RR in the Resource Record
   (RR) TYPEs registry, with the meaning of "enhanced delegation
   information" and referencing this document.

   IANA is requested to assign a new bit in the DNSKEY RR Flags registry
   ([RFC4034]) for the ADT bit (N), with the description "Authoritative
   Delegation Types" and referencing this document.  For compatibility
   reasons we request the bit 14 to be used.  This value has been proven
   to work whereas bit 0 was proven to break in practical deployments
   (because of bugs).

   IANA is requested to assign a bit from the EDNS Header Flags registry
   ([RFC6891]), with the abbreviation DE, the description "DELEG
   enabled" and referencing this document.

   IANA is requested to assign a value from the Extended DNS Error Codes
   ([RFC8914]), with the Purpose "New Delegation Only" and referencing
   this document.

   For the RDATA parameters to a DELEG RR, the DNS Service Bindings
   (SVCB) registry ([RFC9460]) is used.  This document requests no new
   assignments to that registry, though it is expected that future DELEG
   work will.

5.  References

5.1.  Normative References

   [RFC4034]  Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.
              Rose, "Resource Records for the DNS Security Extensions",
              RFC 4034, DOI 10.17487/RFC4034, March 2005,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4034>.

   [RFC4035]  Arends, R., Austein, R., Larson, M., Massey, D., and S.
              Rose, "Protocol Modifications for the DNS Security
              Extensions", RFC 4035, DOI 10.17487/RFC4035, March 2005,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc4035>.

   [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>.

   [RFC6840]  Weiler, S., Ed. and D. Blacka, Ed., "Clarifications and
              Implementation Notes for DNS Security (DNSSEC)", RFC 6840,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6840, February 2013,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6840>.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 12]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   [RFC6891]  Damas, J., Graff, M., and P. Vixie, "Extension Mechanisms
              for DNS (EDNS(0))", STD 75, RFC 6891,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC6891, April 2013,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6891>.

   [RFC8914]  Kumari, W., Hunt, E., Arends, R., Hardaker, W., and D.
              Lawrence, "Extended DNS Errors", RFC 8914,
              DOI 10.17487/RFC8914, October 2020,
              <https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8914>.

   [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>.

   [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>.

5.2.  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.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>.

   [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>.

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 13]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   [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>.

Appendix A.  Examples

   The following example shows an excerpt from a signed root zone.  It
   shows the delegation point for "example." and "test."

   The "example." delegation has DELEG and NS records.  The "test."
   delegation has DELEG but no NS records.

   example.   300 IN DELEG DIRECT a.example. Glue4=192.0.2.1 (
                           Glue6=2001:DB8::1 )
   example.   300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns2.example.net.
   example.   300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns3.example.org.
   example.   300 IN RRSIG DELEG 13 4 300 20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . HyDHYVT5KcqWc7J..= )
   example.   300 IN NS    a.example.
   example.   300 IN NS    b.example.net.
   example.   300 IN NS    c.example.org.
   example.   300 IN DS    65163 13 2 5F86F2F3AE2B02...
   example.   300 IN RRSIG DS 13 4 300 20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . O0k558jHhyrC21J..= )
   example.   300 IN NSEC  a.example. NS DS RRSIG NSEC DELEG
   example.   300 IN RRSIG NSEC 13 4 300 20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . 1Kl8vab96gG21Aa..= )
   a.example. 300 IN A     192.0.2.1
   a.example. 300 IN AAAA  2001:DB8::1

   The "test." delegation point has a DELEG record and no NS record.

   test.      300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns2.example.net
   test.      300 IN RRSIG DELEG 13 4 300 20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . 98Aac9f7A1Ac26Q..= )
   test.      300 IN NSEC  a.test. RRSIG NSEC DELEG
   test.      300 IN RRSIG NSEC 13 4 300  20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . kj7YY5tr9h7UqlK..= )

A.1.  Responses

   The following sections show referral examples:

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 14]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

A.2.  DO bit clear, DE bit clear

A.2.1.  Query for foo.example

   ;; Header: QR RCODE=0 ;;

   ;; Question foo.example.  IN MX

   ;; Answer ;; (empty)

   ;; Authority example.  300 IN NS a.example. example.  300 IN NS
   b.example.net. example.  300 IN NS c.example.org.

   ;; Additional a.example. 300 IN A 192.0.2.1 a.example. 300 IN AAAA
   2001:DB8::1

A.2.2.  Query for foo.test

   ;; Header: QR AA RCODE=3 ;;

   ;; Question foo.test.  IN MX

   ;; Answer ;; (empty)

   ;; Authority .  300 IN SOA ...

   ;; Additional ;; OPT with Extended DNS Error: New Delegation Only

A.3.  DO bit set, DE bit clear

A.3.1.  Query for foo.example

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 15]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   ;; Header: QR DO RCODE=0
   ;;

   ;; Question
   foo.example.   IN MX

   ;; Answer
   ;; (empty)

   ;; Authority

   example.   300 IN NS    a.example.
   example.   300 IN NS    b.example.net.
   example.   300 IN NS    c.example.org.
   example.   300 IN DS    65163 13 2 5F86F2F3AE2B02...
   example.   300 IN RRSIG DS 13 4 300 20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . O0k558jHhyrC21J..= )
   ;; Additional
   a.example. 300 IN A     192.0.2.1
   a.example. 300 IN AAAA  2001:DB8::1

A.3.2.  Query for foo.test

   ;; Header: QR DO AA RCODE=3
   ;;

   ;; Question
   foo.test.      IN MX

   ;; Answer
   ;; (empty)

   ;; Authority
   .          300 IN SOA ...
   .          300 IN RRSIG SOA ...
   .          300 IN NSEC  aaa NS SOA RRSIG NSEC DNSKEY ZONEMD
   .          300 IN RRSIG NSEC 13 4 300
   test.      300 IN NSEC  a.test. RRSIG NSEC DELEG
   test.      300 IN RRSIG NSEC 13 4 300  20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . aBFYask;djf7UqlK..= )

   ;; Additional
   ;; OPT with Extended DNS Error: New Delegation Only

A.4.  DO bit clear, DE bit set

A.4.1.  Query for foo.example

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 16]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   ;; Header: QR DE RCODE=0
   ;;

   ;; Question
   foo.example.  IN MX

   ;; Answer
   ;; (empty)

   ;; Authority
   example.   300 IN DELEG DIRECT a.example. Glue4=192.0.2.1 (
                           Glue6=2001:DB8::1 )
   example.   300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns2.example.net.
   example.   300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns3.example.org.

   ;; Additional
   ;; (empty)

A.4.2.  Query for foo.test

   ;; Header: QR AA RCODE=0
   ;;

   ;; Question
   foo.test.   IN MX

   ;; Answer
   ;; (empty)

   ;; Authority
   test.      300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns2.example.net

   ;; Additional
   ;; (empty)

A.5.  DO bit set, DE bit set

A.5.1.  Query for foo.example

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 17]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   ;; Header: QR DO DE RCODE=0
   ;;

   ;; Question
   foo.example.  IN MX

   ;; Answer
   ;; (empty)

   ;; Authority

   example.   300 IN DELEG DIRECT a.example. Glue4=192.0.2.1 (
                           Glue6=2001:DB8::1 )
   example.   300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns2.example.net.
   example.   300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns3.example.org.
   example.   300 IN RRSIG DELEG 13 4 300 20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . HyDHYVT5KcqWc7J..= )
   example.   300 IN DS    65163 13 2 5F86F2F3AE2B02...
   example.   300 IN RRSIG DS 13 4 300 20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . O0k558jHhyrC21J..= )

   ;; Additional
   a.example. 300 IN A     192.0.2.1
   a.example. 300 IN AAAA  2001:DB8::1

A.5.2.  Query for foo.test

   ;; Header: QR DO DE AA RCODE=0
   ;;

   ;; Question
   foo.test.      IN MX

   ;; Answer
   ;; (empty)

   ;; Authority
   test.      300 IN DELEG INCLUDE ns2.example.net.
   test.      300 IN RRSIG DELEG 13 4 300 20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . 98Aac9f7A1Ac26Q..= )
   test.      300 IN NSEC  a.test. RRSIG NSEC DELEG
   test.      300 IN RRSIG NSEC 13 4 300  20250214164848 (
                           20250207134348 21261 . kj7YY5tr9h7UqlK..= )

   ;; Additional
   ;; (empty)

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 18]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

Appendix B.  Acknowledgments {:unnumbered}

   This document is heavily based on past work done by Tim April in
   [I-D.tapril-ns2] and thus extends the thanks to the people helping on
   this which are: John Levine, Erik Nygren, Jon Reed, Ben Kaduk,
   Mashooq Muhaimen, Jason Moreau, Jerrod Wiesman, Billy Tiemann, Gordon
   Marx and Brian Wellington.

Appendix C.  TODO

   RFC EDITOR:  PLEASE REMOVE THE THIS SECTION PRIOR TO PUBLICATION.

   *  Write a security considerations section

   *  Change the parameters form temporary to permanent once IANA
      assigned.  Temporary use:

      -  DELEG QType code is 65432

      -  DELEG EDNS Flag Bit is 3

      -  DELEG DNSKEY Flag Bit is 0

Appendix D.  Change Log

   RFC EDITOR:  PLEASE REMOVE THE THIS SECTION PRIOR TO PUBLICATION.

D.1.  since draft-wesplaap-deleg-00

   *  Clarified SVCB priority behavior

   *  Added section on differences to draft-homburg-deleg-incremental-
      deleg

D.2.  since draft-wesplaap-deleg-01

   *  Reorganised and streamlined the draft to the bare minimum for
      DELEG as an NS replacement

   *  Defined codepoints for temporary testing

   *  Added examples

Contributors

   Christian Elmerot
   Cloudflare
   Email: christian@elmerot.se

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 19]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   Edward Lewis
   ICANN
   Email: edward.lewis@icann.org

   Roy Arends
   ICANN
   Email: roy.arends@icann.org

   Shumon Huque
   Salesforce
   Email: shuque@gmail.com

   Klaus Darilion
   nic.at
   Email: klaus.darilion@nic.at

   Libor Peltan
   CZ.nic
   Email: libor.peltan@nic.cz

   Vladimír Čunát
   CZ.nic
   Email: vladimir.cunat@nic.cz

   Shane Kerr
   NS1
   Email: shane@time-travellers.org

   David Blacka
   Verisign
   Email: davidb@verisign.com

   George Michaelson
   APNIC
   Email: ggm@algebras.org

   Ben Schwartz
   Meta
   Email: bemasc@meta.com

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 20]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   Jan Včelák
   NS1
   Email: jvcelak@ns1.com

   Peter van Dijk
   PowerDNS
   Email: peter.van.dijk@powerdns.com

   Philip Homburg
   NLnet Labs
   Email: philip@nlnetlabs.nl

   Erik Nygren
   Akamai Technologies
   Email: erik+ietf@nygren.org

   Vandan Adhvaryu
   Team Internet
   Email: vandan@adhvaryu.uk

   Manu Bretelle
   Meta
   Email: chantr4@gmail.com

   Bob Halley
   Cloudflare
   Email: bhalley@cloudflare.com

Authors' Addresses

   Tim April
   Google, LLC
   Email: ietf@tapril.net

   Petr Špaček
   ISC
   Email: pspacek@isc.org

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 21]
Internet-Draft                    DELEG                        July 2025

   Ralf Weber
   Akamai Technologies
   Email: rweber@akamai.com

   David C Lawrence
   Salesforce
   Email: tale@dd.org

April, et al.            Expires 8 January 2026                [Page 22]