An Introduction to the CentralNic Domain Name Registry
CentralNic Ltd, 35-39 Moorgate, London, EC2R 6AR United Kingdom http://www.centralnic.com/ Email: info@centralnic.com Page 1
Table Of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Registering Domain Names 3. Time line of a Domain Registration 4. Expiry Dates 5. Grace Periods 6. Domain Renewals 7. Reactivating Domains on ʺPending Deletionʺ 8. Registrar Transfers 9. Registrant Transfers 10. Submitting Payment 11. Modifying Domain Details 12. Registering Name servers 13. Modifying Contact Details 14. The Support Tickets System 15. Managing Your Account 15.1. Registrar Console 15.2. Toolkit 15.3. EPP 15.4. WHOIS 15.5. IRIS 16. Contacting CentralNic 17. CentralNic News Feeds 18. Company History 3 3 4 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 11
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1. Introduction CentralNic Ltd operates a domain registry service at the second level of the DNS system, using a portfolio of two- and three-letter domain names under .COM and .NET. Registrations are done on a first-come, first-served basis, via a network of Registrars and Resellers, and via the CentralNic website. CentralNicʹs domain names work within the global DNS infrastructure and use the domain name system to expand the available name space without requiring the creation of new Top Level Domains (TLDs). Just as a domain such as EXAMPLE.COM is a delegated sub-domain of .COM, so too is EXAMPLE.UK.COM a delegated sub-domain of UK.COM, which is a sub-domain of .COM.
2. Registering Domain Names As a CentralNic Registrar, you are entitled to register domain names in bulk on behalf of your customers. When you register a domain name with us, whether itʹs via the Registrar Console or via one of our automation interfaces, you must provide us with the following details: 5.1. The Registrant Name. The Registrant of a domain name is the legal ʺownerʺ of the domain name, and has final authority over the domain. In our system, the Registrant is just a text string, and not a ʺcontact objectʺ, as it is with other registries. 5.2. The Client Contact. This is a ʺcontact objectʺ that should correspond to the Registrant, but may be an individual or department of the Registrant organisation. 5.3. The Technical Contact. This is a ʺcontact objectʺ specifying the entity with control over the technical operation of the domain name, i.e. the ISP, hosting company or Technical Department of the Registrant. This contact is usually set to be the same as the Billing Contact (see below). The Technical Contact has the power to change the DNS servers to which the domain is delegated. 5.4. The Billing Contact. This is always the contact object that corresponds to the Registrar (i.e. you). The Billing Contact is responsible for paying for registration, renewal and transfer fees. The Billing Contact can authorise or reject transfer requests, change the Technical Contact for the domain, and delete the domain name. If the Billing Contact is an accredited Registrar, they can also change the DNS servers for the domain name. 6. Any number of DNS servers to which the domain name should be delegated. For the domain to actually work, we require at least one DNS server. Otherwise, the domain will be ʺparkedʺ (see http://www.parked.uk.com/ for an example of a parked domain). Alternatively, we can provide an HTTP-level forwarding (301
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redirect) to a URL that you provide us. NB: the terms ʺcontactʺ and ʺhandleʺ are synonymous with each other, and are use interchangeably throughout our websites and documentation. Contact objects have the following attributes, which are supplied by you when they are created:
Name: Company: Address: Postcode: Country: Phone: Fax: E-mail:
The full name of the person the contact refers to, or an organisational name (ie ʺHostmasterʺ) The full name of the organisation, if appropriate The postal address of the contact. This is a free text field. The postal or ZIP code of the contact The two letter ISO-3166 country code for the contact. ʺUKʺ is used in place of ʺGBʺ (our systems will convert). The telephone number of the contact, ideally in e164a format. The fax number of the contact, ideally in e164a format. The e-mail address of the contact.
Of the above, the fields that are mandatory for all contact objects are: Name, Country, Email. All other fields are optional.
3. Time line of a Domain Registration Here is a time line that shows how a domain registration progresses: T+0: T+15m (max): T+24h (max): T+37d: T+44d: T+61d: T+68d: the domain is registered into the CentralNic database. after 15 minutes, the DNS server(s) for the domain are entered into the DNS system, and the domain starts working. at the end of the day, the CentralNic system issues an invoice to the Reseller for the registration of the domain name. after 37 days of non-payment, we e-mail a reminder to the Reseller. after 44 days of non-payment, another reminder is e-mailed to the Reseller. after 61 days of non-payment, we notify the Client Contact that the domain remains unpaid. after 68 days of non-payment, we e-mail a final reminder to the Reseller. The domain is placed ʺOn Holdʺ. DNS server records are removed from the parent zone. after 113 days of non-payment, the domain is deleted and made available for registration.
T+113d:
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4. Expiry Dates When a domain name is newly registered, its Expiry Date in your control panel is set to be the same as its creation date. This remains the case until payment for the domain name is received, at which point it is advanced by the appropriate number of years. Likewise, when a domain name is renewed, its expiry date is not advanced until payment for the renewal has been received. The WHOIS format is slightly different: Once a registration/renewal invoice has been raised an additional status of ‘Registration in Progress’ or ʹRenewal in Progressʹ will be displayed in the WHOIS record, and the expiry date of the domain will increase by the appropriate number of years. Once payment of the invoice has been received the status will simply show ‘Live’.
5. Grace Periods VeriSign and other TLD registries operate a ʺgrace periodʺ system for domain registrations and renewals - if a domain is registered or renewed, it can subsequently be deleted within a grace period at no cost to the registrar. However, CentralNicʹs billing system negates the need for a grace period, as you are only required to submit payment for the domains that you have received payment for. A domain can be deleted at any time before it is paid for, and our system will delete unpaid domain names automatically after 113 days.
6. Domain Renewals CentralNic operates two models for domain name renewals. As an accredited registrar you can choose which model you want to use: 1. Auto-delete. All domains that are not explicitly renewed by the registrar are automatically placed on ʺPending Deletionʺ when they reach expiry (+ 5 days grace period). A domain on ʺPending Deletionʺ can be restored to ʺLiveʺ at any time via your registrar control panel. After 45 days on ʺPending Deletionʺ, the domain is deleted and made available for registration. 2. Auto-renew. All domain names are automatically invoiced for renewal. When the domain reaches its expiry date, our system issues a renewal invoice, which is subject to the same credit terms as a domain registration. That is, if payment has not been received 68 days after expiry, the domain goes ʺOn Holdʺ, and if no payment has been received 113 days after expiry, the domain is deleted.
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By default, all new registrar accounts are set to the first (auto-delete) model. To change to the second model, use the ʺAccount Preferencesʺ page on the Registrar Console.
7. Reactivating Domains on ʺPending Deletionʺ If a domain name has been placed on ʺPending Deletionʺ, either because your account is set to ʺauto-deleteʺ, or because you have requested its deletion, you may reactivate it at any time by submitting a request to us via the Registrar Console, or relevant Toolkit or EPP function.
8. Registrar Transfers CentralNic has an automated system for managing domain transfers. A breakdown of the transfer policy follows. If a domain has an unpaid registration or renewal invoice against it, this must be settled before a transfer can be initiated: 1. The gaining registrar submits a transfer request. At this point, the transfer status is ʺnewʺ. If the registrant has supplied the gaining registrar with the Auth Code this can also be entered at the time the transfer is requested. Our system sees the new request and sends an authorisation message to the losing registrar. The status of the transfer is now ʺpendingʺ. The losing registrar must then explicitly approve or reject the transfer request. The status of the transfer is now either ʺapprovedʺ or ʺrejectedʺ. If the transfer was rejected, the gaining registrar is notified. If the transfer was approved, the object is transferred to the gaining registrar. If the Technical Contact for a domain name matches the losing registrar, then this is also changed to the gaining registrar. If the Client Handle is associated only with this domain and no others, then its sponsorship is also updated to the gaining registrar. If the transfer is not explicitly approved or rejected by the losing registrar within five calendar days, then the transfer is automatically marked as rejected. However, if an Auth Code was supplied at the time the transfer was requested, it will be automatically marked as approved.
2. 3. 4. 5.
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9. Registrant Transfers To change the Registrant of a domain name, CentralNic requires written authorisation from the losing registrant, on that organisationʹs letterhead if applicable. Authorisation may be submitted by mail or by fax, using the template that is available in the support section of the centralnic.com website.
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Prior to May 2006, CentralNic charged a fee for registrant transfers. This fee is no longer required for transfers.
10. Submitting Payment CentralNic endeavours to make it as easy as possible to submit payment for domain names. You can pay using a credit, by cheque, or by direct bank transfer. We have US Dollar and Euro accounts to reduce costs to our registrars due to exchange commission. Details of our Sterling, US Dollar and Euro accounts are supplied when creating a payment batch on the registrar console. You can submit payment for as many or as few domains as you like. Our Registrar Console interface allows you to ʺcherry pickʺ as many domains as you like from any of your outstanding invoices.
11. Modifying Domain Details If you are the Registrar Contact for a domain name, you can modify the DNS servers and Technical Contact for it in real-time, either by using the Registrar Console, or via one of our automation interfaces. You can also make changes to the Client Contact for the domain if you are the ʺsponsorʺ for it (see below).
12. Registering Name servers If you wish to register the names of DNS servers so that they can be used to host domain names within the .COM or .NET zones, please submit a request to us by email.
13. Modifying Client Contact Details CentralNic registrars are permitted to modify client contact objects only if they are the ʺsponsorʺ for that object. You will be the sponsor for a contact object if you originally created it, either directly or as part of a domain registration or modification process. If a domain name is transferred to your account, and the Client Contact object for that domain is not associated with any domains on another registrarʹs account, then sponsorship of that contact is also passed to you. You can update contact objects using the Registrar Console or one of our automation interfaces. Page 7
14. The Support Tickets System CentralNic operates a Support Tickets system to make it easy to track the progress of support requests through our system. Any e-mail sent to tickets@centralnic.com that has a handle ID in the subject line is entered into our database. It is then picked up by a member of our administration team, who will process it according to our policies and procedures.
15. Managing Your Account CentralNic offers a number of solutions for managing your Registrar account. These are described briefly below. 15.1. The Registrar Console CentralNic has developed our Registrar Console (at https://resellers.centralnic.com/) to provide a complete solution for managing your domain names, billing, and customer details. All essential functions are accessible via the Registrar Console: you can register, pay for, modify, renew and delete domain names; initiate, authorise or reject transfers; configure your account settings; and view statistics and reports about your account. We are continually adding new features, and improving existing ones, based on your feedback. To access the Registrar Console, go to the above URL, enter your Registrar Handle ID and password, and click on the ʺLog Inʺ button.
15.2. The Toolkit The CentralNic Toolkit is the preferred method for automating domain registration and management functions. It uses a simple text-over-HTTP protocol and offers very high performance: for example, domain availability checks across our entire domain portfolio are returned in a few milliseconds. The Toolkit offers functions for information retrieval (domain availability, detailed domain lookup, detailed contact lookup), domain and contact registration and management (including transferring, renewing and deleting domains), and account management (getting lists of domains, pricing information, and upcoming renewals). We also maintain easy-to-use client libraries in Perl and PHP, and plan to offer libraries in other popular languages in the future. Further information about the Toolkit can be seen at: http://toolkit.centralnic.com/
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15.3. Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP) Available to all registrars upon request. 15.4. WHOIS CentralNic operates a standard WHOIS server that you can use to check the details of any domain name registered with us. You can use any standard WHOIS client (including the UNIX terminal client) to query our WHOIS server at whois.centralnic.net. 15.5. IRIS The Internet Registry Information Service (IRIS) is a protocol developed by the Internet Engineering Task Forceʹs (IETF) Cross-Registry Internet Service Protocol (CRISP) Working Group. It is intended to be a replacement of the aging Nicname/Whois protocol. CentralNic is currently tracking the development of this protocol and hopes to be the first registry outside of VeriSign to deploy an IRIS service.
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16. Contacting CentralNic CentralNic operates two offices: one in London, and one in California. The contact details are as follows: London Office: CentralNic Ltd. 35-39 Moorgate London EC2R 6AR United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)8700 170 900 Fax: +44 (0)8700 170 901
E-mail: info@centralnic.com (General enquiries) accounts@centralnic.com (Accounts queries) California Office: CentralNic USA Ltd. Suite 1030, 21700 Oxnard St. Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California 91367 United States Phone: +1 (909) 606 9175 Fax: +1-(909) 606 9275
E-mail: california.office@centralnic.com (Sales, General enquiries)
17. CentralNic News Feeds CentralNic provides several information feeds in RSS format. They are: Domain Wire (http://www.centralnic.com/wire?op=rss) - News and information about the domain name industry. Toolkit News (http://toolkit.centralnic.com/?op=rss) - Updates and Announcements regarding the Toolkit Service.
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Registrar Console News (https://resellers.centralnic.com/news_rss.php) - Announcements regarding the Registrar Console and Registrar Service
18. Company History The idea for an independent global domain name registry stems from a series of conversations between one of CentralNicʹs original founders and the late Jon Postel, one of the founding fathers of the modern Internet. Postel suggested the use of .UK.COM to compete with .CO.UK, at a time when the proposed price of the latter was about $300. Using UK.COM as its first domain name, NomiNation was founded in 1995 offering .UK.COM domain registrations. In 2000, when the wider was expanded to cover other 2-letter .COM and .NET domains, Nomination was absorbed into a new company, CentralNic Ltd.
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