RE: "External" hosts in EPP

["Brian Park" <brian@new.net>]

Greetings, and thank you all for your work on the EPP protocol.

I like Rick's idea very much. So I have a question:

Can the <host> object be eliminated completely?

I feel that this can solve a number of implementation difficulties.

Then, how does one specify the IP address of a name server? As far as I
understand, the only time a host requires a glue record is when it acts as a
name server to its superordinate domain. In that case, its IP address(es)
could be specified by extending the <domain:ns> element in the
<domain:create> element. If the host is "external", then its IP address does
not need to (and probably should not) be specified.

I do understand that the host object provides a useful layer of indirection
between a domain and its name servers. The loss of this functionality may be
outweighed by the elimination of a number of problems (related to host
deletion, domain deletion, locking of domains due to cross-references, host
hijacking, glue records, host ownership, etc.)

The issue of dangling references to non-existent name servers came up in a
previous email thread (entitled "host transfers", 2001-8-7 to 2001-8-29). It
seems to me that in the world of multiple independent Registries, such
references will not be uncommon, and unfortunately unpreventable in the
absence of a Registry-to-Registry protocol.

I can continue to give more detailed arguments on the pros and cons of this
idea, but if the fundamental suggestion is without merit, then I will stop
here.

Brian Park

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ietf-provreg@cafax.se [mailto:owner-ietf-provreg@cafax.se]On
Behalf Of Rick H Wesson
Sent: Monday, November 05, 2001 11:17 AM
To: asbjorn.rrp@theglobalname.org
Cc: ietf-provreg@cafax.se
Subject: Re: "External" hosts in EPP



asbjorn,

another potential solution is to only requre host objects for hosts that
require glue. in other words hosts outside the zone don't need a host
object created. hosts inside the managed zone require a host object to be
created and associated with the deligation.

-rick