SRS Implementation Newsletter April 2002
.nz Provider Update April 2002
The SRS implementation is proceeding well and project activity is steadily increasing as the new system and business environment begin to take shape. We are still on track with the schedule outlined in the March update.
Domain Name Commissioner Appointed
Debbie Monahan has been appointed as the Domain Name Commissioner and will be responsible for the day to day oversight of the operation of the .nz domain name registration and management system.
Ms Monahan commences in the role on 13 May and will initially oversee the final stages of the transition to the shared registry, including the authorisation of registrars and the transfer of management of specific domain names from Domainz to the authorised registrars. In the longer term, she will be responsible for the ongoing development and monitoring of the competitive registrar market and the environment for registration and management for .nz domain names.
Ms Monahan has considerable experience with registries. She was the National Manager responsible for the development and implementation of the Personal Property Securities Register. She has also been the Acting National Manager of all business registries for the Ministry of Economic Development and the Assistant Commissioner of Patents, Trade Marks and Designs. Her training and early work experience came as a forensic scientist and she is currently a regional manager with the Department of Corrections.
New Zealand Domain Name Registry Limited
Establishment work for the registry is proceeding with the appointment of directors and recruitment of the registry manager in progress. Therell be more on this in the next Update.
Domain Name Allocation to Registrars
An issue of interest to all intending registrars is the criteria and process that will be applied to determining the domain names that are managed by each registrar as they become authorised to operate in the SRS environment. The initial work has been completed on the criteria and is being reviewed from a legal perspective. Further work may be required before the draft criteria and process are consulted on with providers.
Technical Implementation
The draft technical architecture was completed in March and is published on the InternetNZ web site (refer below for the URL pointing to all relevant SRS information on the site). The primary purpose of the document is to provide a framework for more detailed technical specifications. It is not intended as a specification for providers and providers are not advised to begin developing their interfaces to the SRS based on this document. Specific, more detailed, documentation will be provided for intending registrars as soon as the protocols and processes have been confirmed, probably not before July.
We are now nearing the end of the prototyping phase where we are testing the assumptions made about the architecture. We have loaded a production-size register and are in the process of testing the performance and reliability of the SRS protocols, security, failover capability, etc. At completion of this phase in early May we will be in a position to finalise and sign-off the technical architecture.
We are also currently performing detailed analysis of the SRS requirements, to the level of detail necessary to design the full application. The results of this phase, coupled with the final technical architecture, will provide the developers with sufficient information to complete the technical specifications necessary to develop the application. This work will begin in May, although much ground-work has already been performed in developing the prototype system.
Although the requirements of the SRS have been well-consulted and formally agreed by InternetNZ, it is vital that the application works well for its main business users, the registrars. To this end, we have established a Registrar Working Group to take part in early beta testing of the application, scheduled for late June. As well as reporting technical issues, the group will be invited to provide feedback on any aspect of the system they feel might improve its usability from a registrar perspective. Although it is not our intention to re-negotiate the fundamental business rules of the system, we are keen to make the system as successful as possible and all suggestions will be carefully considered. The group has five participants, most of whom had expressed prior interest in being involved, and all have agreed to commit the time and effort necessary. Participating in the group does not confer any preference or priority for gaining authorisation to the SRS later in the year. The group are Domainz (the stabilising registrar), FreeParking, Nucleus, RegisterDirect, and WebAddress (Interspeed).
Domainz
Data Scrub
We are currently reviewing our database and are beginning a Data Scrub to clean up any old and incorrect contact details. The process will be ongoing and customers will have a URL where they can go and update their contact information directly, using their Name Holder ID and Password.
Assistance from .nz providers is essential to do this. The data scrub will enable us to develop procedures, which will enhance our website and ensure as smooth as possible transition to the SRS.
The data scrub project is important to the SRS migration because the information we hold will remain as the primary contact detail for Name Holders. Having the correct details stored in the DRS/SRS will also assist essential communication e.g. billing.
Any Comments?
If you have any questions or concerns about the SRS implementation, please don't hesitate to contact us. For technical matters, contact Doug Mercer (doug@internetnz.net.nz). For all other matters, contact Rose Percival (rose@internetnz.net.nz).
SRS Implementation Team
April 30th 2002
Please note:
We have targeted this update at all currently accredited providers for .nz domain names, and other providers who are listed in the current register who are managing fifty or more domain names on behalf of name holders. If you know of someone else who would like to receive a copy of this update, please feel free to pass it onto them or have them e-mail office@internetnz.net.nz to be added to the mailing list for the next update.
References to all publicly available documents concerning the SRS can be found on the following web page (link)
