New gTLD Update: Signed TLDs Now Outnumber Unsigned TLDs

In the six weeks since I blogged about the emergence of new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) in the root zone, eighty-four new gTLDs have been delegated. This brings the total number of TLDs, including country code TLDs (ccTLDs) to 427. Of the recently added eight-four gTLDs, nine are internationalized, and this brings us to fifty internationalized TLDs, comprising a mix of both gTLDs and ccTLDs.


And thanks to the signing requirement of the new gTLD program, all eighty-four domains are signed with DNSSEC. This brings the number of signed TLDs to 235, with 229 having delegation signer (DS) records in the root zone. Signed TLDs under which you register domain names, especially those with DS records in the root zone, streamline the process for resolvers to validate your signed name space. Resolvers need only maintain the root zone public key (trust anchor) to validate signed subtrees of the global DNS namespace. As long as each domain along this chain down to your zone is signed, a resolver can validate your signatures using the root trust anchor. This "chain of trust" is linked via DS records, which are published in a parent zone and authenticate a child zone's public key.


With more signed TLDs, especially if yours is/are signed, your path to securing your name space becomes simpler. The table below reflects todays status, updated since my prior post. Other than the addition of eighty-four gTLDs (9 IDN and 75 non-IDN), the .name generic-restricted TLD was signed, moving one tally from unsigned non-IDN to signed non-IDN in that row.


SignedUnsigned
IDNNon-IDNIDNNon-IDN
Country Code TLD129024159
Generic TLD1410900
Sponsored TLD0708
Infrastructure TLD (.arpa)0100
Generic-restricted TLD0201
TOTAL2620924168

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Handy AAAA filter in BIND 9.8

The ISC introduced a pair of new configuration file options in BIND 9.8 to enable administrators to easily filter who may receive AAAA record type responses even if valid responses exist. For example, clients on subnets that do not have IPv6 network access can be excluded from receiving affirmative answers for AAAA queries. This feature provides simpler administration than the alternative mechanism using views. The first option, filter-aaaa-on-v4,defines whether the server will return AAAA records to certain clients. Such clients are defined by the address match list parameter of the second option, filter-aaaa. Note that BIND must be compiled with the --enable-filter-aaaa option on the configure command line to enable AAAA filtering. The syntax of these options is as follows: filter-aaaa-on-v4 (yes | no | break-dnssec) ; filter-aaaa {addr_match_list;} ; The filter-aaaa option identifies the address match list for which the filter-aaaa-on-v4 option is to be applied as described ...
Read more

Inglorious DDI

We all know how critical DHCP/DNS/IPAM (DDI) services are. Your network cannot function without them. But like most foundational elements of anything, they are certainly not glamorous...like good luck finding a home designer who specializes in home foundations. I would not be shocked should HGTV pass on my brilliant concept for a foundation building show. I suppose most people would find a show detailing footing depths and concrete pouring techniques rather boring.  Nevertheless, there are countless shows for redesigning and remodeling homes. On most episodes the foundation is out of sight, out of mind. If it's stable, no one wants to pay it attention, they just expect it to keep doing its job, supporting the structure. Once in a while a foundational issue is brought up that unexpectedly threatens to raise the budget to heighten the drama. All work stops until the issue is addressed. And you'll notice that the owner never denies paying the extra amount to fix the issue. ...
Read more

BIND 9.8.0 Adds DNS64 Support - Part 2 - How is it configured?

BIND 9.8.0 introduced a new dns64 option statement that can be configured within the server named.conf options block or within a view options block. Recall from a prior post that DNS64 configures a recursive DNS server to issue A record queries on behalf of a client requesting AAAA records, then appends the returned IPv4 address to a defined IPv6 prefix. This manufactured IPv6 address enables the querying host to connect to a NAT64 gateway which will terminate the IPv6 connection from the client and map it to an outbound IPv4 connection to the appended IPv4 address, completing the connection! Whew! BIND offers a number of useful parameters within the dns64 statement to control this process. The statement syntax is: dns64 IPv6_prefix { [clients {address_match_list };] [mapped {address_match_list };] [exclude {address_match_list };] [suffix IPv6_addr;] [recursive-only (yes|no);] [break-dnssec (yes|no);] }; The IPv6_prefix parameter is the prefix to which returned...
Read more