[nc-idn] Understanding consequences of possible IDN

[Elisabeth Porteneuve <Elisabeth.Porteneuve@cetp.ipsl.fr>]

Dear NC IDN TF members,


The IDN names deployment will happen. 
The IETF decided on the encoding scheme, AMC-ACE-Z, at its meeting 
in London (August 2001). The selected ASCII Compatible Encoding (ACE) 
permit the transmission and storage within existing DNS mechanisms. 
Hence this Interational domain names enhancement to the DNS involves 
only end-user software. That being said, it is an enormous change.

The technical and interoperability issues are within the IETF works. 
Notwithstanding the above, we shall learn what is going to happen, 
and what is the most important change (if the web works and the e-mail
not, it will be the first separation of the applications, the first
split into Internet with and without e-mail).

I suggest the NC IDN TF helps to identify consequences to the current 
usage of the domain names from the DNSO perspective.

Here are some questions. Do you have additional ones ?

Elisabeth
--


Presumable the introduction of International domain names will 
be a dramatic change. 

   1. Is the gTLD and ccTLD space going to provide the international 
      domain names with the same encoding and prefix ? What will 
      happen if not ? Is the coordination between all TLD Registries 
      necessary with regards to international domain names matter ? 

The current IDN testbeds explain that ONLY WEB access will be 
available, and under some specific conditions related to the 
end-user domain name servers and to the end-user browser. 

   2. What modifications will be required on the end-user domain 
      name servers (servers and resolvers) ? There are millions 
      of domain name servers deployed all over the Internet, 
      how does it scale ?

The explicit warnings on testbed sites inform that the e-mail will 
not work. Or today end-user knows that websites are associated with 
e-mail services, ftp services and whois services.
The introduction of International DN will break the harmony 
and uniqueness between web applications and others, for example 
e-mail. Because of the change to the current practice and end-user 
habits, it is supposed that number of people will send e-mails
with their non-ASCII characters.

   3. How this dissociation between applications and domain names
      will impact DNS traffic ? Or root servers traffic ?

   4. Why the e-mail and ftp applications are more difficult to be 
      adapted to the International domain names ? 

   5. When the whois query will be adapted to the International domain 
      names ? And Universal Whois project ?

The variety of products and interoperability between them are both necessary
for competition at application level. 

   6. Are market forces sufficient at this stage ? In other words, 
      are we going to have more than one browser and more than one 
      operating system functionning with International domain names ?
      Does it matter ?

The Internet domain names have a particular value for trademarks.
The Joint ITU / WIPO Symposium on Multilingual Domain Names is 
being organized in Geneva, International Conference Center of Geneva (CICG)
December 6-7, 2001. The registrations are open at http://www.itu.int/mdns/