Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) Object Tagging
draft-hollenbeck-regext-rdap-object-tag-00

Abstract

The Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) includes a method that can be used to identify the authoritative server for processing domain name, IP address, and autonomous system number queries. The method does not describe how to identify the authoritative server for processing other RDAP query types, such as entity queries. This limitation exists because the identifiers associated with these query types are typically unstructured. This document describes an operational practice that can be used to add structure to RDAP identifiers that makes it possible to identify the authoritative server for additional RDAP queries.

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Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Object Naming Practice
• 3. Bootstrap Service Registry for RDAP Service Providers
• 3.1. Registration Procedure
• 4. IANA Considerations
• 4.1. Bootstrap Service Registry for RDAP Service Providers
• 5. Security Considerations
• 6. Acknowledgements
• 7. References
• 7.1. Normative References
• 7.2. Informative References
• Appendix A. Change Log
• Authors' Addresses

1. Introduction

The Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) includes a method ([RFC7484]) that can be used to identify the authoritative server for processing domain name, IP address, and autonomous system number (ASN) queries. This method works because each of these data elements is structured in a way that facilitates automated parsing of the element and association of the data element with a particular RDAP service provider. For example, domain names include labels (such as "com", "net", and "org") that are associated with specific service providers.

As noted in Section 9 of RFC 7484 [RFC7484], the method does not describe how to identify the authoritative server for processing entity queries, name server queries, help queries, or queries using certain search patterns. This limitation exists because the identifiers bound to these queries are typically not structured in a way that makes it easy to associate an identifier with a specific service provider. This document describes an operational practice that can be used to add structure to RDAP identifiers that makes it possible to identify the authoritative server for additional RDAP queries.

2. Object Naming Practice

Tagging object identifiers with a service provider tag makes it possible to identify the authoritative server for processing an RDAP query using the method described in RFC 7484 [RFC7484]. A service provider tag is constructed by concatenating the Unicode HYPHEN-MINUS character '-' (U+002D) to an IANA-registered value that represents the service provider. For example, a tag for a service provider identified by the string value "ARIN" is represented as "-ARIN".

Service provider tags are concatenated to the end of RDAP query object identifiers to unambiguously identify the authoritative server for processing an RDAP query. Building on the example from Section 3.1.5 of RFC 7482 [RFC7482], an RDAP entity handle can be constructed that allows an RDAP client to bootstrap an entity query. The following identifier is used to find information for the entity associated with handle "XXXX" at service provider "ARIN":

XXXX-ARIN

Clients that wish to bootstrap an entity query can parse this identifier into distinct handle and service provider identifier elements. Handles can themselves contain HYPHEN-MINUS characters; the service provider identifier is found following the last (reading from left to right) HYPHEN-MINUS character in the tagged identifier. The service provider identifier is used to retrieve a base RDAP URL from an IANA registry. The base URL and entity handle are then used to form a complete RDAP query path segment. For example, if the base RDAP URL "https://example.com/rdap/" is associated with service provider "YYYY" in an IANA registry, an RDAP client will parse a tagged entity identifier "XXXX-YYYY" into distinct handle ("XXXX") and service provider ("YYYY") identifiers. The service provider identifier "YYYY" is used to query an IANA registry to retrieve the base RDAP URL "https://example.com/rdap/". The base RDAP URL is concatenated to the entity handle to create a complete RDAP query path segment of "https://example.com/rdap/entity/XXXX-YYYY".

Implementation of this practice requires tagging of unstructured potential query identifiers in RDAP responses. Consider these elided examples from Section 5.3 of RFC 7483 [RFC7483] in which the handle identifiers have been tagged with a service provider tag:

{
  "objectClassName" : "domain",
  "handle" : "XXXX-RIR",
  "ldhName" : "0.2.192.in-addr.arpa",
  "nameservers" :
  [
    ...
  ],
  "secureDNS":
  {
    ...
  },
  "remarks" :
  [
    ...
  ],
  "links" :
  [
    ...
  ],
  "events" :
  [
    ...
  ],
  "entities" :
  [
    {
      "objectClassName" : "entity",
      "handle" : "XXXX-RIR",
      "vcardArray":
      [
        ...
      ],
      "roles" : [ "registrant" ],
      "remarks" :
      [
        ...
      ],
      "links" :
      [
        ...
      ],
      "events" :
      [
        ...
      ]
    }
  ],
  "network" :
  {
    "objectClassName" : "ip network",
    "handle" : "XXXX-RIR",
    "startAddress" : "192.0.2.0",
    "endAddress" : "192.0.2.255",
    "ipVersion" : "v6",
    "name": "NET-RTR-1",
    "type" : "DIRECT ALLOCATION",
    "country" : "AU",
    "parentHandle" : "YYYY-RIR",
    "status" : [ "active" ]
  }
}
        

{
  "objectClassName" : "domain",
  "handle" : "XXXX-DNR",
  "ldhName" : "xn--fo-5ja.example",
  "unicodeName" : "foo.example",
  "variants" :
  [
    ...
  ],
  "status" : [ "locked", "transfer prohibited" ],
  "publicIds":
  [
    ...
  ],
  "nameservers" :
  [
    {
      "objectClassName" : "nameserver",
      "handle" : "XXXX-DNR",
      "ldhName" : "ns1.example.com",
      "status" : [ "active" ],
      "ipAddresses" :
      {
        ...
      },
      "remarks" :
      [
        ...
      ],
      "links" :
      [
        ...
      ],
      "events" :
      [
        ...
      ]
    },
    {
      "objectClassName" : "nameserver",
      "handle" : "XXXX-DNR",
      "ldhName" : "ns2.example.com",
      "status" : [ "active" ],
      "ipAddresses" :
      {
        ...
      },
      "remarks" :
      [
        ...
      ],
      "links" :
      [
        ...
      ],
      "events" :
      [
        ...
      ]
    }
   ],
   "secureDNS":
   {
     ...
   },
   "remarks" :
   [
     ...
   ],
   "links" :
   [
     ...
   ],
   "port43" : "whois.example.net",
   "events" :
   [
     ...
   ],
   "entities" :
   [
     {
       "objectClassName" : "entity",
       "handle" : "XXXX-8",
       "vcardArray":
       [
         ...
       ],
       "status" : [ "validated", "locked" ],
       "roles" : [ "registrant" ],
       "remarks" :
       [
         ...
       ],
       "links" :
       [
         ...
       ],
       "events" :
       [
         ...
       ]
     }
   ]
}
        

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "publication": "YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ",
  "description": "RDAP bootstrap file for service provider allocations",
  "services": [
    [
      ["YYYY"],
      [
        "https://example.com/rdap/"
      ]
    ],
    [
      ["ZZ54"],
      [
        "http://rdap.example.org/"
      ]
    ],
    [
      ["1754"],
      [
        "https://example.net/rdap/",
        "http://example.net/rdap/"
      ]
    ]
  ]
 }