eDNS Enters Moratorium, Seeks
Industry Input at Networld+Interop Meeting
LAS VEGAS, May 5, 1997 /PRNewswire/ -- The following
statement was issued today by the eDNS Consortium
Over the course of the last couple of weeks, the public
Domain Name System (DNS) has been rocked with several announcements that
have left the future of that system in question. The result of all of
this uncertainty has been a boom in support for the Enhanced Domain Name
System (eDNS), a private, free market DNS system that already offers new
Top Level Domains (TLDs). As recently reported, visibility of eDNS
(http//www.edns.net) TLDs has more than doubled since the system started
two months ago, with one eDNS registrar (AGN - http//www.agn.net) reporting
its 10,000th domain registration.
The issuance of new TLDs has also experienced a dramatic
rise, so much so that the eDNS Consortium is concerned that cybersquatting
may be occurring. While the eDNS Charter has always limited the number of
TLDs any one entity could own, it has become apparent that the Charter does
not adequately define what constitutes TLD ownership. In response to
these challenges, the eDNS Consortium formed a Root Server Council (RSC)
for the sole purpose of interpreting the existing eDNS Charter.
Since that time, discussions within the RSC have lead to
specific questions about eDNS governance, and broader questions about
Internet governance. Since these are difficult questions with far
ranging implications, the RSC has decided to
-- place a temporary moratorium on the
issuance of any new TLDs, RAs, or Registries.
-- bring these and other issues before the
entire Internet community for public review. Upon consensus, the
questionable RAs and TLDs will either be accepted, modified, or
deleted.
-- begin this process with Industry
stakeholders at the upcoming Networld+Interop Conference in Las Vegas
(http//www.interop.com).
Some of the other issues that need to be addressed by the
Internet community with regard to domain names include
-- technical issues (single letter TLDs,
synching root servers)
-- registration issues (transition of
ownership, sharing registrations)
-- root server issues (ownership,
affiliations, funding)
-- governance issues (who, how, under what
authority)
While there are many questions that need to be answered,
eDNS does not support the IAHC plan. "We consider the scrutiny
the IAHC plan is now receiving to be a major victory for the eDNS
Consortium. If it weren't for our efforts, the IAHC might have
succeeded in implementing an agenda designed to benefit a small group of
Internet insiders" said Jay Fenello, president of Iperdome, Inc.
(http//www.iperdome.com). "We do, however, encourage IAHC
participation in our public comment process."
eDNS members hope that these efforts will result in a
unified root, one where the multiple root servers agree to some fundamental
ground rules. Members of the RSC plan on requesting meetings with various
members of the U.S. Government to address these and other issues. One
such issue is the $20,000,000 "intellectual infrastructure" fund,
a fund established by the National Science Foundation and earmarked for
Internet related infrastructure. The eDNS sponsored meeting will be held at
the Networld+Interop Conference on Tuesday, May 6 in the Las Vegas Hilton,
Ballroom F. The entire Internet community is invited to participate
in this public comment process to help shape the future direction of eDNS
and the entire DNS system.
