Uniform Resource Name (URN) Namespace Registration Transition
draft-ietf-urnbis-ns-reg-transition-01

Abstract

The original registration procedure for formal Uniform Resource Name (URN) namespaces required IETF Consensus. That requirement discouraged some registrations and increased the risk for problems that could occur as a result. The requirements have now been changed in [[RFC 3406bis]] to adopt a different model. This document specifies IANA instructions to adapt selected existing registrations to the new model. It also obsoletes some previous RFCs to eliminate any ambiguity about the status of new templates and updated registrations.

Status of This Memo

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Copyright Notice

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Table of Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Obsoleting Older Registration RFCs
• 2.1. ISBN URN Changes
• 2.2. ISSN URN Changes
• 3. IANA Considerations
• 4. Security Considerations
• 5. Acknowledgements
• 6. Contributors
• 7. References
• 7.1. Normative References
• 7.2. Informative References
• Appendix A. Change Log
• A.1. Changes from version -00 to -01
• Authors' Addresses

1. Introduction

As a part of the initial development of the URN system in the late 1990s, the IETF URN working group agreed that it was important to demonstrate that the URN syntax can accommodate existing identifier systems. RFC 2288 [RFC2288] investigated the feasibility of using three identifiers (ISBN, ISSN and SICI) as URNs, with positive results; however, it did not formally register corresponding URN namespaces. This was in part due to the still evolving process to formalize criteria for namespace definition documents and registration, consolidated later in the IETF into successive Namespace Definition Mechanism documents [RFC2611] [RFC3406].

URN Namespaces have subsequently been registered for NBN (National Bibliography Number) [RFC3188], ISBN (International Standard Book Number) [RFC3187], and ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) [RFC3044].

The predecessor registration procedure for Uniform Resource Name (URN) namespaces [RFC3406] required IETF Consensus for formal namespaces. That requirement discouraged some registrations and increased the risk for problems, including use of names without registration ("squatting"), that could occur as a result. Those potential problems included the possibility of the same name being used to identify different namespaces with different rules. The requirements have now been changed [RFC3406bis] to adopt a different model that focuses more on attempting to get all namespaces that follow the syntax of formal ones registered, with as much information collected as a possible consistent with that goal. This document specifies IANA instructions to adapt selected existing registrations to the new model and obsoletes the separate RFCs that specify the namespaces for International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSNs) [RFC3044], International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) [RFC3187] to eliminate any ambiguity about the status of new templates and updated registrations.

An updated version of the specification for the namespace for National Bibliography Numbers (NBNs) [RFC3188] will be issued separately. NBN is not a formal international standard and RFC 3188 is the only formal document which specifies its scope. The intention is to modernize the existing namespace registration so that it specifies the identifier and provides examples of its use, while the actual namespace registration will be done according to the new practice.

2. Obsoleting Older Registration RFCs

The existing RFCs that describe URN namespaces for ISSNs (RFC 3044) and ISBNs (RFC 3187) should be identified as "Historic" immediately after this document is approved and the new registration templates for those namespaces are submitted and incorporated into the URN Namespace registry by IANA.

The updated templates reflect not only new template formats but substantive changes to the definitions of the namespaces. The changes are summarized in the subsections that follow.

For both ISSN and ISBN URNs, it is intended that the registrations track the evolution of ISO standardization without requiring resubmission of the templates or other formal IETF or IANA registration update approval procedures.

2.1. ISBN URN Changes

The revised ISBN namespace reflects the updated version of the ISO Standard for ISBNs, ISO 2108:2005 [ISO-ISBN-b] and allows for the use of both the ten character numbers described in RFC 3187 and the earlier ISO 2108:1992 [ISO-ISBN-a] (known as ISBN-10) and the expanded ones of the revised standard (known as ISBN-13).

2.2. ISSN URN Changes

The ISSN namespace is also updated to reflect changes between the ISSN Standard when RFC 3044 was written and the newest, 2007 version [ISO-ISSN].

3. IANA Considerations

IANA is requested to update the registry entries for URN ISSNs, ISBNs, and NRNs to reflect the new, RFC 3406bis-complaint templates as soon as they are available and to no longer reference the now-historic RFCs. Other registrations and templates conforming to the newer rules may be substituted for the older ones when they are available. However, neither this document nor RFC 3406bis invalidates existing registrations other than those listed above, so IANA needs to be prepared to maintain a registry whose contents reflect both old and new templates.

IANA should also note that the portions of the registrations that point to ISO Standards are intended to identify current versions (which may change) rather than only the versions that are active at the time this document is approved (see Section 2).

4. Security Considerations

While particular URN namespaces and their registrations might conceivably have security implications, this specification merely specifies a transition of a pair of registration procedures and does not have such implications. The security implications associated with particular namespaces are expected to be listed in registration templates as specified in RFC 3406bis.

5. Acknowledgements

This document draws heavily on discussions in the IETF URNbis Working Group in the second and third quarters of 2013, particularly during IETF 87 in August 2013, and on informal discussions during the plenary meeting of ISO TC 46 in June 2013. The efforts of those who participated in those discussions are greatly appreciated. It also draws on internet-drafts that were developed to update the older registrations before that approach was replaced by the new extended template model. Those drafts were prepared by Pierre Godefroy, Juha Hakala, Alfred Hoenes, and Maarit Huttunen.

6. Contributors

Alfred Hoenes was the editor and co-author of two of the documents from which this one is, in part, derived. This document would not have been possible without his contributions.

7. References

7.1. Normative References

7.2. Informative References

Appendix A. Change Log

A.1. Changes from version -00 to -01

• Modified the introduction to Section 2 and Section 3 to make it clear that registry update procedures should not be required to keep the registrations current with ISO Standard reaffirmations or replacments.
• Many editorial changes to improve readability and clarity.

Authors' Addresses