DNS Terminology
RFC 7719
| Document | Type |
RFC - Informational
(December 2015; Errata)
Obsoleted by RFC 8499
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Last updated | 2016-02-02 | ||
| Replaces | draft-hoffman-dns-terminology | ||
| Stream | IETF | ||
| Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized bibtex | ||
| Reviews | |||
| Stream | WG state | Submitted to IESG for Publication | |
| Document shepherd | Tim Wicinski | ||
| Shepherd write-up | Show (last changed 2015-06-25) | ||
| IESG | IESG state | RFC 7719 (Informational) | |
| Consensus Boilerplate | Yes | ||
| Telechat date | |||
| Responsible AD | Joel Jaeggli | ||
| Send notices to | (None) | ||
| IANA | IANA review state | Version Changed - Review Needed | |
| IANA action state | No IANA Actions | ||
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) P. Hoffman
Request for Comments: 7719 ICANN
Category: Informational A. Sullivan
ISSN: 2070-1721 Dyn
K. Fujiwara
JPRS
December 2015
DNS Terminology
Abstract
The DNS is defined in literally dozens of different RFCs. The
terminology used by implementers and developers of DNS protocols, and
by operators of DNS systems, has sometimes changed in the decades
since the DNS was first defined. This document gives current
definitions for many of the terms used in the DNS in a single
document.
Status of This Memo
This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is
published for informational purposes.
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has
received public review and has been approved for publication by the
Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Not all documents
approved by the IESG are a candidate for any level of Internet
Standard; see Section 2 of RFC 5741.
Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7719.
Hoffman, et al. Informational [Page 1]
RFC 7719 DNS Terminology December 2015
Copyright Notice
Copyright (c) 2015 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
document authors. All rights reserved.
This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
(http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
publication of this document. Please review these documents
carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
to this document. Code Components extracted from this document must
include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
described in the Simplified BSD License.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. DNS Header and Response Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4. Resource Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
5. DNS Servers and Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
6. Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
7. Registration Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
8. General DNSSEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
9. DNSSEC States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
10. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
11. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
11.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
11.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
1. Introduction
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a simple query-response protocol
whose messages in both directions have the same format. The protocol
and message format are defined in [RFC1034] and [RFC1035]. These
RFCs defined some terms, but later documents defined others. Some of
the terms from RFCs 1034 and 1035 now have somewhat different
meanings than they did in 1987.
This document collects a wide variety of DNS-related terms. Some of
them have been precisely defined in earlier RFCs, some have been
loosely defined in earlier RFCs, and some are not defined in any
earlier RFC at all.
Hoffman, et al. Informational [Page 2]
RFC 7719 DNS Terminology December 2015
Most of the definitions here are the consensus definition of the DNS
community -- both protocol developers and operators. Some of the
definitions differ from earlier RFCs, and those differences are
noted. In this document, where the consensus definition is the same
as the one in an RFC, that RFC is quoted. Where the consensus
definition has changed somewhat, the RFC is mentioned but the new
stand-alone definition is given.
It is important to note that, during the development of this
document, it became clear that some DNS-related terms are interpreted
quite differently by different DNS experts. Further, some terms that
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