internationalized domain names: overview of icann activities masanobu katoh, chair, idn committee...
TRANSCRIPT
Internationalized Domain Names: Overview of ICANN Activities
Masanobu Katoh, Chair, IDN Committee
Director, ICANN Board
CDNC-CNSG-MINC IDN Joint MeetingBeijing, China
October 19-20, 2001
IDN-IWG 2October 19-20, 2001
IDN Working GroupIDN Working Group
Formation: Melbourne meeting, resolution 1.39
Members: Auerbach, Campos, Cerf, Katoh
Mission statement: http://www.icann.Org/committees/idn
IDN-IWG 3October 19-20, 2001
Mission StatementMission Statement
Working Group “sees its charter as limited to fact
finding for the purpose of educating the board and
the ICANN community so that ICANN can fulfill its
mission of technical management of Internet
domain names and IP numbers. The working
group will not set technical standards for IDNs.”
IDN-IWG 4October 19-20, 2001
Activities of IDN Working Group
Activities of IDN Working Group
Consultations: MINC (Melbourne, 3/14/2001)AINC (Amman, 4/1/2001)
Surveys: www.icann.org/committees/idn/survey-30apr01.htm
Technical Questions (Survey A)Policy Questions (Survey B)Current Services (Survey C)
IDN-IWG 5October 19-20, 2001
Activities of IDN WG (con’t.) Activities of IDN WG (con’t.) Status Report: Presented at Public Forum at ICANN
Meeting in Stockholm http://www.icann.org/committees/idn/status-report-05jul01.htm
Follow Up Questions to Surveys: http://www.icann.org/committees/idn/follow-up-survey-05jul01.
htm Consultations:
ChinaInet 2001 (Beijing 7/11/2001) Keidanren-JPNIC Workshop (Tokyo 7/13/2001)
Montevideo Report (9/9/2001)http://www.icann.org/committees/idn/final-report-28aug01.htm
IDN-IWG 6October 19-20, 2001
Survey A: Technical Questions
Survey A: Technical Questions
Two basic approaches to IDN issue
Server side approach
Local Encodings (BG, BIG5, DJIS) or Unicode transformation format (UTF-8) sent directly over the internet. May require server reconfiguration, DNS redesign
Client side approachTranslate local encoding or Unicode into ASC II compatible encoding (ACE) on the user’s computer
IDN-IWG 7October 19-20, 2001
Server Side ApproachServer Side Approach
Advantages: No client side implementation required
Disadvantages: May take long time
Possible development of alternate
roots Name equivalence
IDN-IWG 8October 19-20, 2001
Client Side ApproachClient Side Approach
Advantages: No server side implementation required, so faster
Disadvantages: Requires user installation Difficulties in converting local character sets into Unicode, then into ASCIILimitations on the length of domain namesIntellectual Property Issues
IDN-IWG 9October 19-20, 2001
Hybrid ApproachHybrid Approach
Example: RealNames Proprietary Approach- If a
Microsoft browser determines that an IDN is not in ASCII, it forwards it to a RealNames server, which then converts it to ASCII so that it can be resolved.
IDN-IWG 10October 19-20, 2001
Absence of StandardAbsence of Standard
IETF hard at work developing standard
No ideal solution - difficult problem with different stakeholders:
system administrators/operatorsend userstechnologists
IDNA (Internationalized Domain Names in Application) - client side approach
IDN-IWG 11October 19-20, 2001
Adoption of StandardAdoption of Standard
All respondents said they would adopt IETF standard
Speed of implementation depends on approach
Standard probably will not be interoperable with other approaches
IDN-IWG 12October 19-20, 2001
Are “Test Beds” a Problem?Are “Test Beds” a Problem?
No: Gaining important experience
Yes: User confusion
Perceived as attempts to force community to adopt certain technologies
Lead to establishment of alternate namespaces
IDN-IWG 13October 19-20, 2001
Big Picture IssuesBig Picture Issues
Short-term vs. Long Term Solution?
Are We Asking Too Much of DNS? (Identifier vs. Identity)
IDN-IWG 14October 19-20, 2001
Survey B: Policy QuestionsSurvey B: Policy Questions
Strong support for IDN
Increase Internet use bynon-Latin script users
May increase opportunities for cybersquatting
IDN-IWG 15October 19-20, 2001
CybersquattingCybersquatting
Recognized as inevitable
DRP, Sunrise periods, WHOIS database all
invaluable tools
IDN-IWG 16October 19-20, 2001
Top Level IDNsTop Level IDNs
Global community expressing demand for top-level IDNs.
ICANN will have to determine how to address the interests of diverse stakeholders.
IDN-IWG 17October 19-20, 2001
Survey C: Current ServicesSurvey C: Current Services
Some free registrations, others charge same as ASCII registration
[IDN].[IDN][IDN]. gTLD [IDN].ccTLD
IDN-IWG 18October 19-20, 2001
Current ServicesCurrent Services
Over 1,000,000 registrations (920,000 with Verisign GRS)
Some systems are live
Both client side and server sideapproaches are in use (Verisign
GRS uses client side)
IDN-IWG 19October 19-20, 2001
Why Are Registries/ Registrars Offering IDN Service?
Why Are Registries/ Registrars Offering IDN Service?
Perceive Large Demand
Defensive measure
IDN-IWG 20October 19-20, 2001
Why Are Registrants Registering IDNs?
Why Are Registrants Registering IDNs?
Useful communication tool
Prevention of cybersquatting
IDN-IWG 21October 19-20, 2001
IDN Working Group Recommendations
IDN Working Group Recommendations
ICANN Board Should:Encourage IETF to adopt standards as
quickly as possible;Establish a committee to provide
recommendations on non-technical policy issues, including interoperability, cybersquatting/dispute resolution, top level domains, consumer protection, and competition.
IDN-IWG 22October 19-20, 2001
New IDN Committee New IDN Committee
At the September 10, 2001meeting in Montevideo, the ICANN Board passed a resolution establishing a new IDN Committee "to serve as a general coordination body for the work on policy issues identified in the IDN Working Group Report and such other policy issues that the IDN Committee shall identify."
IDN-IWG 23October 19-20, 2001
IDN Committee ProcessIDN Committee Process
"[T]he IDN Committee should seek to ensure that any recommendations are achieved through a bottom-up process, and that those recommendations reflect a wide range of expertise on the different aspects relevant to the issues"
IDN-IWG 24October 19-20, 2001
IDN Committee StructureIDN Committee Structure
Chaired by Director Masanobu KatohICANN President Stuart Lynn, in consultation
with the IDN Committee Chair,"shall propose, for approval by the Board, representatives to serve on the IDN Committee from the ICANN Board, the Supporting Organizations, the Governmental Advisory Committee, and such other individuals who in his judgment could meaningfully contribute to this effort"
IDN-IWG 25October 19-20, 2001
Input to the IDN CommitteeInput to the IDN Committee
"[T]he IDN Committee is encouraged to commission panels of volunteer experts from different countries with practical experience in the policy issues identified in the Final Report, and linguistic experts (including experts in non-ASCII character sets and languages not spoken by persons active in current discussions)"
IDN-IWG 26October 19-20, 2001
IDN Committee Work PlanIDN Committee Work Plan
The IDN Committee has been requested to present its initial work plan, schedule, and proposed budget for approval by the Board at the third ICANN annual meeting, to be held in Marina del Rey in November 2001.