Re: [wg-c] voting on TLDs

[Dave Crocker <dcrocker@brandenburg.com>]

At 11:45 AM 3/6/2000 -0800, Karl Auerbach wrote:
>I might note that I've been associated with an actual test in which we
>established a root with several million TLDs.  The world did not end, the
>seas did not boil, the sun still rose in the east, and DNS still worked.

Karl, my recollection of that test was that it was quite limited, and that 
it did not attempt to emulate, for example,  network access patterns, 
system access patterns, system update patterns  or the like that constitute 
system-wide behavior of the global DNS root.

As such, the test provided one, useful-but--constrained data point with 
respect to the question of DNS ability to scale.   That is, it testing 
basic functionality of some core software.

Knowing that the software in a single root server can handle a large data 
base is, indeed, nice.  It also does not provide a definitive basis for 
asserting instant scalability of the global domain name root SERVICE.  As 
an experienced networking person, you know that a networking SERVICE 
comprises the collection of components and their interactions, not just the 
behavior of one node under limited circumstances.


> > Administrative instability is just as bad -- actually much worse
>
>If new TLD operators are flakes, then they won't get any business.  And if
>they don't get any business they won't get any queries.  End of story.

End of thinking, from some perspectives, perhaps, but much too simplistic a 
view of critical  infrastructure service, from other perspectives.


> > -- as crashing machines.
>
>My, now DNS can crash machines?  I have to characterize that as
>super FUD.

Nicely creative mis-reading of the text.  Thank you.


>   2) If crashes can be casued by erros at the TLD level then it can
>      just as well happen from the same cause at deeper levels.

Deeper levels affect fewer nodes.  That's why United Airlines works so hard 
to make sure that each first flight of the day gets out on-time.

And if my reference to UAL does not seem to make sense, then there is too 
much distance to cover in the understanding of hierarchical (dependency) 
systems for further discussion to be productive.

d/

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Dave Crocker  <dcrocker@brandenburg.com>
Brandenburg Consulting  <www.brandenburg.com>
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