Hi Dave,
Dave Crocker wrote:
>
> At 03:01 PM 12/2/1999 , Peter Deutsch wrote:
> >Actually, I think it would be as accurate to say "DNS is a distributed
> >database service. The first application was name to IP address
> >translation, but it's now used for a number of such applications."
>
> As opposed to the long and continuing history of talking about (and
> specifying) uses for the DNS that are more than name/address mapping, what
> other functions are actually done (on a wide scale) today?
Actually, Dave I'm not sure I was trying to go where you seem to be
going with this. I was referring to some of the things we've been seeing
on this list - things like supporting IPv6, supporting NATs, supporting
the people looking at IP telephony applications, providing MX mail
services, to name a few. Yes, there are other potential uses that
haven't taken off and I've also been working with people interested in
using DNS technology for such things as ecommerce naming applications,
but frankly given the whole ICANN/NSI/Trademark Lobby/TLD mess I suspect
it's not feasible or desirable to touch the current DNS root tree with a
barge pole for that. The DNS technology clearly has multiple uses, but
proposing changes to the legacy root has become an extremely political
exercise, of late...
My question is still there - is the current mission critical nature of
the simple DNS name->IP address lookup service having a chilling effect
on innovation in DNS technology? The fact that people have proposed
other services based upon this technology and they haven't flown may
actually be a sign of that chilling effect, or it may just be a
commentary on the services proposed. I don't pretend to know the answer
to that, but given how often I've heard "the DNS is mission critical and
can't be changed if it breaks the core service" I would prefer at least
to have a "test tree" for exploring outlandish ideas. My own solution
was to set up and experiment with independent roots, but can this work
in a global Internet context? If I talk about multiple roots I suspect
I'm liable to be tarred with a couple of pretty messy brushes.
I do think there's an issue here, but don't know how to broach it
without appearing to be taking sides in the ICANN wars...
- peterd
--
------------------------------------------------------------------
"In other news tonight, General Franco is still dead"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
