RE: First? TRUE Root Name Server On Line Name: NS2.NIC.EARTH IP Address: 199.5.157.5 When history is made on the Internet, it is important to briefly pause to recognize the event, and then move forward. Recently, one of the first TRUE Root Name Servers was put into service by John Palmer of The American Global Network, Inc. (AGN.NET) [1]. AGN is the owner and operator of the Top Level Domain Registry for the .EARTH and .USA TLDs. There are several factors which make this particular Root Name Server unique: 1. First and foremost, this appears to be the first, public access, Root Name Server which operates as a TRUE NON-RECURSIVE Root Server [2]. This is a requirement which is part of the new root name server guidelines which are being discussed by the IETF and other engineering groups. The 9 "popular" root name servers use by many ISPs do NOT meet these guidelines and resolve second level names.[3] True root name servers should do nothing but return references to TLD Name Servers [2], to reduce the scope of their control and their overall load. 2. The official name of this root name server is...NS2.NIC.EARTH. Because of the growing availability of access to the new Top Level Domains, such as .EARTH, it seems appropriate to begin naming the new Root Name Servers with the newly available names. 3. This Root Name Server can be added to the growing collection of Root 64 Name Servers which can be freely used by ISPs in their "root.cache" files. Because this Root Name Server is supported by a commercial enterprise, and not a hodge podge of volunteers (or the U.S. Government), ISPs can use this Root Name Server to help bring added stability and performance to their systems. [4] [5] In these times where confusion is being caused by groups who think that they can continue to debate the Top Level Domain issues primarily to prevent businesses (registries, ISPs, etc.) from making progress, it is important to recognize the efforts being made by business people to bring stability to the system and better service to consumers. As has been proven over and over during the past year, new commercial Top Level Domains are a reality along with new commercial Root Name Servers. The business community is rising to the challenge of building a better, more complete, and better engineered Internet now that the research and development is largely over. More commercial Root Name Servers are being installed and tested. As news of their introduction becomes available the "newdom" mailing list seems like the best place to keep everyone informed. The web interface for subscribing to that list can be found at: http://www.newdom.com/lists/ @@@@@@ [1] @@@@@@@@@ Result of: whois 199.5.156 The American Global Network, Inc. (NETBLK-RABBIT2) 31511 Harper Ave. St. Clair Shores, MI 48082 Netname: NETBLK-RABBIT2 Netblock: 199.5.156.0 - 199.5.157.0 Coordinator: Palmer, John P. (JP4736) jp@AGN.NET 800-456-0094 (FAX) 810-790-0156 Domain System inverse mapping provided by: SIMBA.AGN.NET 160.79.1.3 NS.AGN.NET 160.79.1.1 Record last updated on 18-Jan-96. @@@@@@ [2] @@@@@@@@@ Result of: dig @199.5.157.5 mcs.com any ; <<>> DiG 2.1 <<>> @199.5.157.5 mcs.com any ; (1 server found) ;; res options: init recurs defnam dnsrch ;; got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 10 ;; flags: qr rd; Ques: 1, Ans: 0, Auth: 9, Addit: 9 ;; QUESTIONS: ;; mcs.com, type = ANY, class = IN ;; AUTHORITY RECORDS: COM. 172800 NS A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. COM. 172800 NS H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. COM. 172800 NS B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. COM. 172800 NS C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. COM. 172800 NS D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. COM. 172800 NS E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. COM. 172800 NS I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. COM. 172800 NS F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. COM. 172800 NS G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. ;; ADDITIONAL RECORDS: A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 198.41.0.4 H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 128.63.2.53 B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 128.9.0.107 C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 192.33.4.12 D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 128.8.10.90 E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 192.203.230.10 I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 192.36.148.17 F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 192.5.5.241 G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. 518400 A 192.112.36.4 ;; Total query time: 29 msec ;; FROM: doorstep.unety.net to SERVER: 199.5.157.5 ;; WHEN: Sat Nov 23 10:59:28 1996 ;; MSG SIZE sent: 25 rcvd: 332 @@@@@@ [3] @@@@@@@@@ Result of: dig @a.root-servers.net mcs.com any ; <<>> DiG 2.1 <<>> @a.root-servers.net mcs.com any ; (1 server found) ;; res options: init recurs defnam dnsrch ;; got answer: ;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 10 ;; flags: qr rd; Ques: 1, Ans: 2, Auth: 2, Addit: 2 ;; QUESTIONS: ;; mcs.com, type = ANY, class = IN ;; ANSWERS: mcs.com. 172800 NS CEREBUS.mcs.com. mcs.com. 172800 NS KITTEN.mcs.com. ;; AUTHORITY RECORDS: mcs.com. 172800 NS CEREBUS.mcs.com. mcs.com. 172800 NS KITTEN.mcs.com. ;; ADDITIONAL RECORDS: CEREBUS.mcs.com. 172800 A 192.160.127.125 KITTEN.mcs.com. 172800 A 192.160.127.90 ;; Total query time: 88 msec ;; FROM: doorstep.unety.net to SERVER: a.root-servers.net 198.41.0.4 ;; WHEN: Sat Nov 23 12:31:25 1996 ;; MSG SIZE sent: 25 rcvd: 128 @@@@@@ [4] @@@@@@@@@ Sample Traceroute to the NEW Root Server 1 chi00-s8-3.nap.net (206.54.225.89) 4.131 ms 4.066 ms 4.211 ms 2 core0-atm0.chi.nap.net (207.112.247.33) 4.013 ms 4.913 ms 4.309 ms 3 909.Hssi3-0.GW2.CHI1.ALTER.NET (137.39.130.173) 5.988 ms 5.735 ms 5.69 ms 4 Fddi1.CR1.CHI1.Alter.Net (137.39.38.193) 5.555 ms 6.243 ms 6.533 ms 5 106.Hssi3-0.GW1.DET1.Alter.Net (137.39.58.58) 14.022 ms 15.304 ms 15.322 ms 6 agn-gw.ALTER.NET (137.39.146.6) 18.409 ms 20.191 ms 19.351 ms 7 NS2.NIC.EARTH (199.5.157.5) 17.695 ms 18.895 ms 17.738 ms @@@@@@ [5] @@@@@@@@@ Sample Ping to NEW Root Server for above route. # ping -c 5 199.5.157.5 PING 199.5.157.5 (199.5.157.5): 56 data bytes 64 bytes from 199.5.157.5: icmp_seq=0 ttl=247 time=19.313 ms 64 bytes from 199.5.157.5: icmp_seq=1 ttl=247 time=20.071 ms 64 bytes from 199.5.157.5: icmp_seq=2 ttl=247 time=18.218 ms 64 bytes from 199.5.157.5: icmp_seq=3 ttl=247 time=19.377 ms 64 bytes from 199.5.157.5: icmp_seq=4 ttl=247 time=18.007 ms --- 199.5.157.5 ping statistics --- 5 packets transmitted, 5 packets received, 0% packet loss round-trip min/avg/max = 18.007/18.997/20.071 ms @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ -- Jim Fleming UNETY Systems, Inc. Naperville, IL e-mail: JimFleming@unety.net JimFleming@unety.net.s0.g0 (EDNS/IPv8)