RFC 3467 (rfc3467) - Page 1 of 31
Role of the Domain Name System (DNS)
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group J. Klensin
Request for Comments: 3467 February 2003
Category: Informational
Role of the Domain Name System (DNS)
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document reviews the original function and purpose of the domain
name system (DNS). It contrasts that history with some of the
purposes for which the DNS has recently been applied and some of the
newer demands being placed upon it or suggested for it. A framework
for an alternative to placing these additional stresses on the DNS is
then outlined. This document and that framework are not a proposed
solution, only a strong suggestion that the time has come to begin
thinking more broadly about the problems we are encountering and
possible approaches to solving them.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction and History ..................................... 2
1.1 Context for DNS Development ............................... 3
1.2 Review of the DNS and Its Role as Designed ................ 4
1.3 The Web and User-visible Domain Names ..................... 6
1.4 Internet Applications Protocols and Their Evolution ....... 7
2. Signs of DNS Overloading ..................................... 8
3. Searching, Directories, and the DNS .......................... 12
3.1 Overview ................................................. 12
3.2 Some Details and Comments ................................. 14
4. Internationalization ......................................... 15
4.1 ASCII Isn't Just Because of English ....................... 16
4.2 The "ASCII Encoding" Approaches ........................... 17
4.3 "Stringprep" and Its Complexities ......................... 17
4.4 The Unicode Stability Problem ............................. 19
4.5 Audiences, End Users, and the User Interface Problem ...... 20
4.6 Business Cards and Other Natural Uses of Natural Languages. 22
4.7 ASCII Encodings and the Roman Keyboard Assumption ......... 22
Klensin Informational
