[icann-eu] Re: Root Servers and ICANN

[Mike Roberts <roberts@icann.org>]

Mr. Fleming has made a minor cottage industry out of taking my 
statement below out of context and polluting the net with it.  Let me 
make a few brief comments about the actual state of affairs.

1) The White Paper and our MOU with the Department of Commerce 
require an ICANN effort to enhance the root server system.  A 
committee chaired by Jun Murai has been working on this for almost 
two years and has made reports on its progress at every ICANN public 
meeting.  The action plan recommended by the RSSAC and adopted by the 
Board in Yokohama involves a series of technical, operational and 
administrative changes in the operation of the root server system, 
most of which will take place in 2001.  See 
<http://www.icann.org/dnsroot-com.html>.

2) It has never been contemplated by ICANN or the DOC that ICANN 
would become an operator of the system.  It is a distributed system - 
geographically, technically, and administratively - that has worked 
extremely well over a long period of years.  ICANN currently operates 
the L root server in Los Angeles, and it will become the operator of 
the new Distribution Master server at some point in the future. The 
RSSAC, as reported in Yokohama and again this past week in Marina del 
Rey, is engaged in a study of root server traffic as a guide to 
potential expansion of the system in the future.  When the committee 
has something to say on this topic, it will make a public report to 
the Board.

3) The root server operator organizations are currently circulating 
among themselves a draft agreement that will reflect the enhancements 
recommended by the RSSAC.  After discussion, the operators have 
recommended through the RSSAC that the existing non-commercial, 
public service character of the operation of the root server system 
be continued.

4) When the recommended changes are in place some time next year, 
there will be a set of written agreements that meet the objectives of 
the White Paper for a chain of accountability for the root servers 
that contributes to the stability of the Internet.  The commitments 
made to ICANN by the operators will be extended in turn to all of the 
TLD nameserver operators who rely on the root server system for their 
own stable name resolution.  It is neither necessary nor desirable 
that the agreements between the root server operators and ICANN, and 
the TLD operator agreements with ICANN be of a commercial nature.

- Mike





At 2:07 +0100 11/19/00, Jefsey Morfin wrote:
>At 17:45 12/11/00, JIM FLEMING wrote:
>>"c) Root server system improvements
>>
>>Mr Roberts clarified the role of ICANN in relation to the operation of the
>>root server system. He noted that ICANN owes an enormous debt of gratitude
>>to the operators of the root servers. The services provided by the root
>>server operators are voluntary services undertaken in the public interest.
>>ICANN works with the root server operators, but does not operate the root
>>server system. Against this background, it is inappropriate for ICANN to
>>enter into contracts with the ccTLDs to provide root server system
>>services."
>>
>>@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
>
>Questions:
>1. how many ccTLD cooperate freely as an operator of a root server?
>2. where can I find the requirements to operate a root server
>3. would it not be advisable that ccTLDs cooperate in operating a root
>     servers to achieve a better geographical distribution of the root servers,
>     increase their number and achieve a better global reliability 
>and stability?
>Jefsey