Internet Engineering Task Force                            S. Hollenbeck
Internet-Draft                                            VeriSign, Inc.
March 27, 2001                               Expires: September 27, 2001


            Generic Registry-Registrar Protocol Requirements
                 <draft-ietf-provreg-grrp-reqs-01.txt>

Status of this Memo

  This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all
  provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.

  Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task
  Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups.  Note that other
  groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts.

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

  The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at
  http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt

  The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
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Abstract

  This document describes high-level functional and interface
  requirements for a client-server protocol for the registration and
  management of Internet domain names in shared registries. Specific
  technical requirements detailed for protocol design are not presented
  here.  Instead, this document focuses on the basic functions and
  interfaces required of a protocol to support multiple registry and
  registrar operational models.

Conventions Used In This Document

  The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
  "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
  document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].








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Table of Contents

  1. Introduction .................................................    3
  1.1 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations ....................    3
  2. General Description ..........................................    5
  2.1 System Perspective ..........................................    5
  2.2 System Functions ............................................    5
  2.3 User Characteristics ........................................    5
  2.4 Assumptions .................................................    5
  3. Functional Requirements ......................................    7
  3.1 Session Management ..........................................    7
  3.2 Identification and Authentication ...........................    7
  3.3 Transaction Identification ..................................    7
  3.4 Object Management ...........................................    8
  3.5 Domain Status Indicators ....................................   13
  3.6 Transaction Completion Status ...............................   14
  4. External Interface Requirements ..............................   15
  4.1 User Interfaces .............................................   15
  4.2 Hardware Interfaces .........................................   15
  4.3 Software Interfaces .........................................   15
  4.4 Communications Interfaces ...................................   15
  5. Performance Requirements .....................................   16
  6. Design Constraints ...........................................   16
  6.1 Standards Compliance ........................................   16
  6.2 Hardware Limitations ........................................   16
  7. Service Attributes ...........................................   17
  7.1 Reliability .................................................   17
  7.2 Availability ................................................   17
  7.3 Scalability .................................................   17
  7.4 Maintainability .............................................   17
  7.5 Extensibility ...............................................   18
  7.6 Security ....................................................   18
  8. Other Requirements ...........................................   19
  8.1 Database Requirements .......................................   19
  8.2 Operational Requirements ....................................   19
  8.3 Site Adaptation Requirements ................................   19
  8.4 Data Collection Requirements ................................   19
  9. Internationalization Requirements ............................   20
  10. IANA Considerations .........................................   21
  11. Security Considerations .....................................   22
  12. References ..................................................   23
  13. Editor's Address ............................................   23
  A. Revision History .............................................   24
  B. Full Copyright Statement .....................................   25







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1. Introduction

  The advent of shared domain name registration systems illustrates the
  utility of a common, generic protocol for registry-registrar
  interaction.  A standard generic protocol will allow registrars to
  communicate with multiple registries through a common interface,
  reducing operational complexity.  This document describes high level
  functional and interface requirements for a generic provisioning
  protocol suitable for registry-registrar operations.  Detailed
  technical requirements are not addressed in this document.

  This document is being discussed on the "ietf-provreg" mailing list.
  To join the list, send a message to <majordomo@cafax.se> with the
  words "subscribe ietf-provreg" in the body of the message.  There is a
  web site for the list archives at http://www.cafax.se/ietf-provreg.

1.1 Definitions, Acronyms, and Abbreviations

  ccTLD: Country Code Top Level Domain.  ".us" is an example of a ccTLD.

  CORE: Council of Registrars

  DNS: Domain Name System

  gTLD: Generic Top Level Domain.  ".com" is an example of a gTLD.

  IANA: Internet Assigned Numbers Authority

  IETF: Internet Engineering Task Force

  IP Address: Either or both IPv4 or IPv6 address.

  IPv4: Internet Protocol version 4

  IPv6: Internet Protocol version 6

  NSI: Network Solutions, Inc.

  RRP: Registry-Registrar Protocol

  TLD: Top Level Domain.  A generic term used to describe both gTLDs and
  ccTLDs that exist under the top-level root of the domain name
  hierarchy.

  Exclusive Registration System: A domain name registration system in
  which registry services are limited to a single registrar.  Exclusive
  Registration Systems may be either loosely coupled (in which case the
  separation between registry and registrar systems is readily evident),



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  or tightly coupled (in which case the separation between registry and
  registrar systems is obscure).

  Object: A generic term used to describe entities that are created,
  updated, deleted, and otherwise managed by a generic registry-
  registrar protocol.

  Registrant: An entity that registers domain names in a registry
  through the services provided by a registrar.  Registrants include
  individuals, organizations, and corporations.

  Registrar: An entity that provides front-end domain name registration
  services to registrants, providing a public interface to registry
  services.

  Registry: An entity that provides back-end domain name registration
  services to registrars, managing a central repository of information
  for a given TLD.  A registry is typically responsible for publication
  and distribution of TLD zone files used by the Domain Name System.

  Shared Registration System: A domain name registration system in which
  registry services are shared among multiple independent registrars.
  Shared Registration Systems require a loose coupling between
  registrars and a registry.

  Thick Registry: A registry in which all of the information associated
  with registered entities, including both technical information
  (information needed to produce zone files) and social information
  (information needed to implement operational, business, or legal
  practices), is stored within the registry repository.

  Thin Registry: A registry in which some element of the social
  information associated with registered entities is distributed between
  a shared registry and the registrars served by the registry.

















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2. General Description

  A basic understanding of domain name registration systems provides
  focus for the enumeration of functional and interface requirements of
  a protocol to serve those systems.  This section provides a high-level
  description of domain name registration systems to provide context for
  the requirements identified later in this document.

2.1 System Perspective

  A domain name registration system consists of a protocol and
  associated software and hardware that permits registrars to provide
  Internet domain name registration services within the TLDs
  administered by a registry.  A registration system may be shared among
  multiple competing registrars, or it may be served by a single
  registrar that is either tightly or loosely coupled with back-end
  registry services.  The system providing registration services for the
  .com, .net, and .org gTLDs is an example of a shared registration
  system serving multiple competing registrars.  The systems providing
  registration services for some ccTLDs and the .gov and .mil gTLDs are
  examples of TLDs served by a single registrar.

2.2 System Functions

  Registrars access a registry through a protocol to register objects
  and perform object management functions.  Required functions include
  session management; object creation, update, renewal, and deletion;
  object query; and object transfer.

  The registry generates DNS zone files for the TLDs it serves.  These
  zone files are created and distributed to a series of name servers
  that provide the foundation for the domain name system.

2.3 User Characteristics

  Protocol users fall into two broad categories: entities that use
  protocol client implementations and entities that use protocol server
  implementations, though an entity may provide both client and server
  services if it provides intermediate services.  A protocol provides a
  loose coupling between these communicating entities.

2.4 Assumptions

  There is one and only one registry that is authoritative for a given
  TLD.

  A registry can be authoritative for more than one TLD.




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  Some registry operations may be billable.  The impact of a billable
  operation should be mitigated through the specification of non-
  billable operations that allow a registrar to make informed decisions
  before executing billable operations.

  A registry may choose to implement a subset of the features provided
  by a generic registry-registrar protocol.  A thin registry, for
  example, may not provide services to register social information.
  Specification of minimal implementation compliance requirements is
  thus an exercise left for a formal protocol definition document that
  addresses the functional requirements specified here.

  A protocol that meets the requirements described here may be called
  something other than "Generic Registry Registrar Protocol".

  The requirements described in this document are not intended to limit
  the set of objects that may be managed by a generic registry-registrar
  protocol.

































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3. Functional Requirements

  This section describes functional requirements for a registry-
  registrar protocol.  Technical requirements that describe how these
  requirements must be met are out of scope for this document.

3.1 Session Management

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to explicitly establish a
  client session with a registry server.

  [2] In a connection-oriented environment, a server MUST respond to
  connection attempts with information that identifies the server and
  the default server protocol version.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide services that allow a client to request
  use of a specific protocol version as part of negotiating a session.

  [4] The protocol MUST provide services that allow a server to decline
  use of a specific protocol version as part of negotiating a session.

  [5] A session MUST NOT be established if the client and server are
  unable to reach agreement on the protocol version to be used for the
  requested session.

  [6] The protocol MUST provide services to explicitly end an
  established session.

  [7] The protocol MUST provide services that ensure transactional
  integrity if a session is aborted prematurely.

3.2 Identification and Authentication

  [1] The protocol or another layered protocol MUST provide services to
  identify registrar clients and registry servers before granting access
  to other protocol services.

  [2] The protocol or another layered protocol MUST provide services to
  authenticate registrar clients and registry servers before granting
  access to other protocol services.

  [3] The protocol or another layered protocol MUST provide services to
  negotiate an authentication mechanism acceptable to both client and
  server.

3.3 Transaction Identification

  [1] Registry operations that create, modify, or delete objects MUST be



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  associated with a registry-unique identifier.  The protocol MUST allow
  each transaction to be identified in a permanent and globally unique
  manner to facilitate temporal ordering and state management services.

3.4 Object Management

  This sections describes requirements for object management, including
  identification, registration, association, update, transfer, renewal,
  deletion, and query.

3.4.1 Object Identification

  Some objects, such as name servers and contacts, MAY have utility in
  multiple registries.  However, maintaining disjoint copies of object
  information in multiple registries can lead to inconsistencies that
  have adverse consequences for the Internet.  For example, changing a
  name server name in one registry, but not in a second registry that
  refers to the server for domain name delegation, can produce
  unexpected DNS query results.

  [1] Every object MUST have an associated object identifier.

  [2] Object identifiers MUST be globally unique.

  [3] An object's identifier MUST NOT change during the lifetime of the
  object in a particular repository, even if administrative control of
  the object changes over time.

  [4] An object identifier MUST contain information that unambiguously
  identifies the object.

  [5] Object identifier format SHOULD be easily parsed and understood by
  humans.

  [6] An object's identifier MUST be generated and returned as part of
  the protocol response when an object is created.

3.4.2 Object Registration

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to register Internet domain
  names.

  [2] The protocol MUST permit a starting and ending time for a domain
  name registration to be negotiated, thereby allowing a registry to
  implement policies allowing a range of registration validity periods,
  and enabling registrars to select a period for each registration they
  submit from within the valid range based on out-of-band negotiation
  between the registrar and the registrant. Registries SHOULD be allowed



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  to accept indefinitely valid registrations if the policy that they are
  implementing permits, and to specify a default validity period if one
  is not selected by a registrar.  Registries MUST be allowed to specify
  minimal validity periods consistent with prevailing or preferred
  practices for fee-for-service recovery.  The protocol MUST provide
  features to ensure that both registry and registrar have a mutual
  understanding of the validity period at the conclusion of a successful
  registration event.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide services to register name servers.  Name
  server registration MUST NOT be limited to a specific period of time.
  Name servers registered within the registry's authoritative TLDs MUST
  be registered with a valid IPv4 or IPv6 address.  A name server MAY be
  registered with multiple IP addresses.  An IP address MAY be shared
  among multiple name servers using distinct server names. Name servers
  that exist in TLDs other than those for which the registry is
  authoritative MUST be registered without an IP address providing that
  the server's TLD is itself a valid TLD.

  [4] The protocol MUST provide services to manage name servers that MAY
  be associated with multiple domains.

  [5] Name servers associated with a domain MAY registered in a
  different domain or even in a TLD for which the registry is not
  authoritative.  This means that IP addresses for name servers whose
  domain name exists in another TLD MUST be registered only in the
  registry that is authoritative for the TLD of the name server.  Glue
  records (DNS "A" records) MUST only be created for DNS "NS" records
  for which the registry is authoritative.

  [6] The protocol MUST provide services to register social information
  describing human and organizational entities.  Registration of social
  information MUST NOT be limited to a specific period of time.  Social
  information MAY include a name (individual name, organization name, or
  both), address (including street address, city, state or province (if
  applicable), postal code, and country), voice telephone number, e-mail
  address, and facsimile telephone number.

  [7] Protocol services to register an object MUST be available to all
  authorized registrars.

3.4.3 Object Association

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to associate name servers with
  domain names.  A domain name MAY have multiple authoritative name
  servers.  Name servers MAY be authoritative for multiple domain names.

  [2] The protocol MUST provide services to associate IP addresses with



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  name servers. Name servers MAY have multiple IP addresses.  An IP
  address MAY be associated with multiple name servers.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide services to associate social information
  with other objects. Social information associations MUST be identified
  by type.  "Registrant" is an example social information type that MAY
  be associated with an object such as a domain name.

  [4] Some managed objects represent shared resources that MAY be
  referenced by multiple registrars.  Requests to associate a known
  shared resource object with another registered object MUST NOT be
  limited to the registrar that sponsors the registered objects.  For
  example, server ns1.example.com (managed by registrar X) MAY be
  associated with both domain example.com (managed by registrar X) and
  domain test.com (managed by registrar Y). Registrar X maintains
  administrative control over domain example.com and server
  ns1.example.com, and registrar Y maintains administrative control over
  domain test.com.  Registrar Y does not have administrative control
  over server ns1.example.com.

3.4.4 Object Update

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to update information
  associated with registered Internet domain names.

  [2] The protocol MUST provide services to update information
  associated with registered name servers.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide services to update social information
  associated with registered human and organizational entities.

  [4] The protocol MUST provide services to confirm registrar
  authorization to update an object.

  [5] Requests to update a registered object MUST be limited to the
  registrar that currently sponsors the registered object.  Unauthorized
  attempts to update a registered object MUST be explicitly rejected.

3.4.5 Object Transfer

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to transfer domain names among
  authorized registrars.  Name servers registered in a domain being
  transferred MUST be transferred along with the domain itself.  For
  example, name servers "ns1.example.com" and "ns2.example.com" MUST be
  implicitly transferred when domain "example.com" is transferred.

  [2] The protocol MUST provide services to transfer social information
  objects among authorized registrars.



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  [3] Transfer requests MUST be initiated by the registrar who wishes to
  become the new administrator of an object.

  [4] The protocol MUST provide services to confirm registrar
  authorization to transfer an object.

  [5] The protocol MUST provide services that allow the requesting
  registrar to cancel a requested object transfer before the request has
  been approved or rejected by the original sponsoring registrar.
  Requests to cancel the transfer of registered objects MUST be limited
  to the registrar that requested transfer of the registered object.
  Unauthorized attempts to cancel the transfer of a registered object
  MUST be explicitly rejected.

  [6] The protocol MUST provide services that allow the original
  sponsoring registrar to approve or reject a requested object transfer.
  Requests to approve or reject the transfer of registered objects MUST
  be limited to the registrar that currently sponsors the registered
  object.  Unauthorized attempts to approve or reject the transfer of a
  registered object MUST be explicitly rejected.

  [7] The protocol MUST provide services that allow both the original
  sponsoring registrar and the potential new registrar to monitor the
  status of both pending and completed transfer requests.

  [8] Transfer of an object MAY extend the object's registration period.
  If an object's registration period will be extended as the result of a
  transfer, the new expiration date and time MUST be returned after
  successful completion of a transfer request.

  [9] Requests to initiate the transfer of a registered object MUST be
  available to all authorized registrars.

3.4.6 Object Renewal/Extension

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to renew or extend the validity
  period of registered domain names.  If applicable, the new expiration
  date and time MUST be returned after successful completion of a
  request to renew or extend the validity period.

  [2] Requests to renew or extend the validity period of a registered
  object MUST be limited to the registrar that currently sponsors the
  registered object.  Unauthorized attempts to renew or extend the
  validity period of a registered object MUST be explicitly rejected.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide services to confirm registrar
  authorization to renew or extend the validity period of an object.




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3.4.7 Object Deletion

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to remove a domain name from
  the registry.

  [2] The protocol MUST provide services to remove a name server from
  the registry.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide services to remove a social information
  object from the registry.

  [4] The protocol MUST provide services to confirm registrar
  authorization to remove an object.

  [5] Requests to remove a registered object MUST be limited to the
  registrar that currently sponsors the registered object.  Unauthorized
  attempts to remove a registered object MUST be explicitly rejected.

3.4.8 Object Existence Query

  This section describes requirements for a light weight query mechanism
  whose sole purpose is to determine if an object exists in a registry.

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to determine if a domain name
  exists in the registry.  Domain names MUST be searchable by fully
  qualified name.

  [2] The protocol MUST provide services to determine if a name server
  exists in the registry.  Name servers MUST be searchable by fully
  qualified name.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide services to determine if a social
  information object exists in the registry.  Social information MUST be
  searchable by a registry-unique identifier.

  [4] A query to determine if an object exists in the registry MUST
  return only a positive or negative response so that server software
  that responds to this query can be optimized for speed.

  [5] Requests to determine the existence of a registered object MUST be
  available to all authorized registrars.

3.4.9 Object Information Query

  This section describes requirements for a query mechanism whose
  purpose is to provide detailed information describing objects that
  exist in a registry.




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  [1] The protocol MUST provide services to retrieve information
  describing a domain name from the registry.  Returned information MUST
  include the identifier of the current sponsoring registrar, the
  identifier of the registrar that originally registered the domain, the
  creation date and time, the expiration date and time (if any), the
  date and time of the last successful update (if any), the identifier
  of the registrar that performed the last update, the date and time of
  last successful transfer request or completed transfer (if any), the
  current status of the domain, the most recent authorization
  information, identifiers describing social information associated with
  the domain, and the child name servers registered in the domain.  The
  most recent authorization information MUST be returned only to the
  current sponsoring registrar.

  [2] The protocol MUST provide services to retrieve information
  describing a name server from the registry.  Returned information MUST
  include the identifier of the current sponsoring registrar, the
  identifier of the registrar that originally registered the name
  server, the creation date and time, the date and time of the last
  successful update (if any), the identifier of the registrar that
  performed the last update, the date and time of last successful
  transfer request or completed transfer (if any), the IP addresses
  currently associated with the name server, and the most recent
  authorization information.  The most recent authorization information
  MUST be returned only to the current sponsoring registrar.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide services to retrieve social information
  from the registry.  Returned information MUST include identification
  attributes (which MAY include name, address, telephone numbers, and
  e-mail address), the identifier of the registrar that originally
  registered the information, the creation date and time, the date and
  time of the last successful update (if any), the identifier of the
  registrar that performed the last update, the date and time of last
  successful transfer request or completed transfer (if any), and the
  most recent authorization information. The most recent authorization
  information MUST be returned only to the current sponsoring registrar.

  [4] Requests to retrieve information describing a registered object
  MAY be granted by the registrar that currently sponsors the registered
  object.  Unauthorized attempts to retrieve information describing a
  registered object MUST be explicitly rejected.

3.5 Domain Status Indicators

  [1] The protocol MUST provide status indicators that identify the
  operational state of a domain name.  Indicators MAY be provided to
  identify a newly created state (the domain has been registered but has
  not yet appeared in a zone), a nominal active state (the domain can be



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  modified and is published in a zone), an inactive state (the domain
  can be modified but is not published in a zone because it has no
  authoritative name servers), a hold state (the domain may not be
  modified and is not published in a zone), a lock state (the domain may
  not be modified and is published in a zone), a pending transfer state,
  and a pending removal state.

  [2] If provided, indicators for hold and lock status MUST allow
  independent setting by both registry and registrar.

  [3] A domain MAY have multiple statuses at any given time.  Some
  statuses MAY be mutually exclusive.

3.6 Transaction Completion Status

  [1] The protocol MUST provide services that unambiguously note the
  success or failure of every transaction.  Individual success and error
  conditions MUST be noted distinctly.

































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4. External Interface Requirements

  External interfaces define the interaction points between a system and
  entities that communicate with the system.  Specific areas of interest
  include user interfaces, hardware interfaces, software interfaces, and
  communications interfaces.

4.1 User Interfaces

  [1] A generic registry-registrar protocol MUST NOT define any features
  that introduce user interface limitations.

4.2 Hardware Interfaces

  [1] A generic registry-registrar protocol MUST NOT define any features
  that introduce hardware interface limitations.

4.3 Software Interfaces

  [1] A generic registry-registrar protocol MUST NOT define any features
  that introduce software interface limitations.

4.4 Communications Interfaces

  [1] Registries, registrars, and registrants interact using a wide
  spectrum of communications interfaces built upon multiple protocols,
  including transport layer protocols such as TCP and application layer
  protocols such as SMTP.  A generic registry-registrar protocol SHOULD
  be serviceable over multiple standard communications protocols.






















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5. Performance Requirements

  [1] Run-time performance is an absolutely critical aspect of protocol
  usability. While performance is very heavily dependent on the hardware
  and software architecture that implements a protocol, protocol
  features can have a direct impact on the ability of the underlying
  architecture to provide optimal performance.  A generic registry-
  registrar protocol MUST be usable in both high volume and low volume
  operating environments.

6. Design Constraints

  Protocol designers need to be aware of issues beyond functional and
  interface requirements when balancing protocol design decisions.  This
  section describes additional factors that may have an impact on
  protocol design, including standards compliance and hardware
  limitations.

6.1 Standards Compliance

  [1] A generic registry-registrar protocol MUST conform to current IETF
  standards.  Standards for domain and host name syntax, IP address
  syntax, security, and transport are particularly relevant.  Emerging
  standards for the Domain Name System MUST be considered as they
  approach maturity.

6.2 Hardware Limitations

  [1] A generic registry-registrar protocol MUST NOT define any features
  that preclude hardware independence.





















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7. Service Attributes

  Elements of service beyond functional and interface requirements are
  essential factors to consider as part of a protocol design effort.
  This section describes several important service elements that MUST be
  addressed by protocol designers, including reliability, availability,
  scalability, maintainability, extensibility, and security.

7.1 Reliability

  [1] Reliability is a measure of the extent to which a protocol
  provides a consistent, dependable level of service.  Reliability is an
  important attribute for a domain name management protocol.  An
  unreliable protocol increases the risk of data exchange errors, which
  at one extreme may have a direct impact on protocol usability and at
  the other extreme may introduce discontinuity between registry and
  registrar data stores.  A generic registry-registrar protocol MUST
  include features that maximize reliability at the application protocol
  layer. Services provided by underlying transport, session, and
  presentation protocols SHOULD also be considered when addressing
  application protocol reliability.

  [2] Default protocol actions for when a request or event times out
  MUST be well defined.

7.2 Availability

  [1] Availability is a measure of the extent to which the services
  provided by a protocol are accessible for an intended use.
  Availability of an application layer protocol is primarily dependent
  on the software and hardware systems that implement the protocol.
  That is, the systems that implement the protocol MUST themselves be
  inherently available.  As such, a generic registry-registrar protocol
  MUST NOT include any features that impinge on the underlying
  reliability of the software and hardware systems needed to implement
  the protocol.

7.3 Scalability

  [1] Scalability is a measure of the extent to which a protocol can
  accommodate use growth while preserving acceptable operational
  characteristics.  A generic registry-registrar protocol MUST be
  capable of operating at an acceptable level as the load on registry
  and registrar systems increases.

7.4 Maintainability

  [1] Maintainability is a measure of the extent to which a protocol can



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  be adapted or modified to address unforeseen operational needs or
  defects.  A generic registry-registrar protocol SHOULD be developed
  under the nominal working group processes of the IETF to provide a
  well-known mechanism for ongoing maintenance.

7.5 Extensibility

  [1] Extensibility is a measure of the extent to which a protocol can
  be adapted for future uses that were not readily evident when the
  protocol was originally designed.  A generic registry-registrar
  protocol SHOULD provide features that at a minimum allow for the
  management of new object types without requiring revisions to the
  protocol itself.

  [2] The requirements described in this document are not intended to
  limit the set of objects that may be managed by a generic registry-
  registrar protocol.  A generic protocol MUST include features that
  allow extension to object types that are not described in this
  document.

  [3] The protocol MUST provide an optional field within all commands
  whose format and use will be controlled by individual registry policy.

7.6 Security

  [1] Transactional privacy and integrity services MUST be available at
  some protocol layer.

  [2] This document describes requirements for basic user identification
  and authentication services.  A generic protocol MAY include
  additional security services to protect against the attacks described
  here, or a generic protocol MUST depend on other-layered protocols to
  provide additional security services.


















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8. Other Requirements

  Certain aspects of anticipated operational environments SHOULD be
  considered when designing a generic registry-registrar protocol.
  Areas of concern include database operations, operations, site
  adaptation, and data collection.

8.1 Database Requirements

  [1] A generic registry-registrar protocol MUST NOT have any database
  dependencies.  However, efficient use of database operations and
  resources MUST be considered as part of the protocol design effort.
  The protocol SHOULD provide atomic features that can be efficiently
  implemented to minimize database load.

8.2 Operational Requirements

  [1] Registry-registrar interactions at the protocol level SHOULD
  operate without human intervention.  However, intermediate services
  that preserve the integrity of the protocol MAY be provided.  For
  example, an intermediate service that determines if a registrant is
  authorized to register a name in a TLD MAY be provided.

  [2] Protocol clients and servers MUST maintain a consistent
  understanding of the current date and time to effectively manage
  objects with temporal properties.

8.3 Site Adaptation Requirements

  [1] Registries and registrars have varying business and operational
  requirements.  Several factors, including governance standards, local
  laws, customs, and business practices all play roles in determining
  how registries and registrars are operated.  A generic registry-
  registrar protocol MUST be flexible enough to operate in diverse
  registry-registrar environments.

8.4 Data Collection Requirements

  [1] Some of the data exchanged between a registrar and registry MAY be
  considered personal, private, or otherwise sensitive.  Disclosure of
  such information MAY be restricted by laws and/or business practices.
  A generic protocol MUST provide services to identify information whose
  disclosure is not strictly required for technical reasons.

  [2] Some of the social information exchanged between a registrar and
  registry MAY be REQUIRED to create, manage, or operate Internet or DNS
  infrastructure facilities, such as zone files.  Such information is
  subject to public disclosure per relevant IETF standards.



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9. Internationalization Requirements

  [1] [RFC1035] restricts the encoding of Internet host and domain names
  in the DNS to a subset of the 7-bit US-ASCII character set.  More
  recent standards, such as [RFC2130] and [RFC2277], describe the need
  to develop protocols for an international Internet.  These and other
  standards MUST be considered during the protocol design process to
  ensure world-wide usability of a generic registry registrar protocol.

  [2] The protocol MUST allow exchange of data in formats consistent
  with current international agreements for the representation of such
  objects.  In particular, this means that addresses MUST include
  country, that telephone numbers MUST start with the international
  prefix "+", and that appropriate thought be given to the usability of
  information in both local and international contexts.  This MAY mean
  that some elements (like names and addresses) need to be represented
  multiple times, or formatted for different contexts (for instance
  English/French in Canada, or Latin/ideographic in Japan).

  [3] All date and time values specified in a generic registry-registrar
  protocol MUST be expressed in Universal Coordinated Time.  Dates and
  times MUST include information to represent a four-digit calendar
  year, a calendar month, a calendar day, hours, minutes, seconds,
  fractional seconds, and the time zone for Universal Coordinated Time.
  Calendars apart from the Gregorian calendar MUST NOT be used


























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10. IANA Considerations

  IANA has assigned several TCP and UDP ports for use within shared
  registration systems.  The assignments can be identified in two broad
  categories: those assigned for use with the CORE Shared Registry
  System Protocol (SRSP) and those assigned for use with the NSI
  Registry Registrar Protocol (RRP).

  The CORE SRSP assignments are as follows:

  srssend         362/tcp    SRS Send
  srssend         362/udp    SRS Send
  srsp            2682/tcp   SRSP
  srsp            2682/udp   SRSP

  The NSI RRP assignments are as follows:

  rrp             648/tcp    Registry Registrar Protocol (RRP)
  rrp             648/udp    Registry Registrar Protocol (RRP)


  These assignments should be preserved as long as the corresponding
  systems are operational.  Additional IANA services may be required to
  support testing and deployment of protocol implementations.



























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11. Security Considerations

  Several security services, including confidentiality, authentication,
  access control, integrity, and non-repudiation SHOULD be applied to
  protect interactions between registries and registrars.
  Confidentiality services protect sensitive exchanged information from
  inadvertent disclosure.  Authentication services confirm the claimed
  identity of registries and registrars before engaging in online
  transactions.  Access control services control access to data and
  services based on identity.  Integrity services guarantee that
  exchanged data has not been altered between the registry and the
  registrar.  Non-repudiation services provide assurance that the sender
  of a transaction can not deny being the source of the transaction, and
  that the recipient cannot deny being the receiver of the transaction.





































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12. References

  [RFC1035] P. Mockapetris: "DOMAIN NAMES - IMPLEMENTATION AND
  SPECIFICATION", RFC 1035, November 1987.

  [RFC2119] S. Bradner: "Key Words for Use in RFCs to Indicate
  Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

  [RFC2130] C. Weider et al.: "The Report of the IAB Character Set
  Workshop", RFC 2130, April 1997.

  [RFC2277] H. Alvestrand: "IETF Policy on Character Sets and
  Languages", BCP 18, RFC 2277, January 1998.

13. Editor's Address

  Scott Hollenbeck
  VeriSign Global Registry Services
  21345 Ridgetop Circle
  Dulles, VA 20166-6503
  USA
  shollenbeck@verisign.com





























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A. Revision History

  -00: First working group version produced from an earlier individual
  submission draft, draft-hollenbeck-grrp-reqs-06.txt.

  -01: Removed 3.4.1-[7], replacing it with a new section 3.4.1 focused
  on object identification.  Renumbered remaining subsections in 3.4.
  Added needed definitions removed when going from individual submission
  -06 to WG -00 back to the draft.  Added section 7.6 to separate
  security requirements from security considerations.  Renamed section 9
  from "Internationalization Considerations" to "Internationalization
  Requirements".







































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B. Full Copyright Statement

  Copyright (C) The Internet Society 2001.  All Rights Reserved.

  This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
  others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
  or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published and
  distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any kind,
  provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
  included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
  document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
  the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
  Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of developing
  Internet standards in which case the procedures for copyrights defined
  in the Internet Standards process must be followed, or as required to
  translate it into languages other than English.

  The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
  revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.

  This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
  "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
  TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT
  NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION HEREIN
  WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
  MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Acknowledgement

  Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
  Internet Society.




















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