V. Proposed Registry Services

C25. Describe each Registry Service (as defined in subsection 1.16 of the model .org Registry Agreement) that you propose to provide for a fee. For an example of a description of this type, see http://www.icann.org/tlds/agreements/name/registry-agmt-appc-1-03jul01.htm.

Diversitas will provide the following Registry Services on a fee-basis. The Registry Services are organized into two categories. Class A services are associated with normal second-level domain name registration services. Class B services are enhanced registry services per the .org registry agreement that are optional offerings for registrars.

Class A Services: Second-level Domain Name Registration Services

Diversitas will offer second-level .org domain name registration services to registrars in the same way they are offered today. All domain-name registrations, and the related data received, must be made pursuant to the requirements of the Registry Registrar Agreement (RRA). Among other things, the RRA requires a registration agreement between the registrar and the registrant that spells out the terms of the registration.

In general, domain name registrations in the .org TLD will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. Exceptions include the dispute resolution process. The initial term of domain name registrations in the .org gTLD will be from one to ten years, in one-year increments. Domain name registrations may be renewed prior to their expiration in one-year increments provided that the expiration date of a domain-name registration can never be more than ten years in the future. A renewal that would set the expiration date further than ten years in the future will lead to the expiration date being set to ten years in the future. Any remaining time will be forfeited.

Class B Services: Enhanced Registry Services

The following enhanced services will be offered. These services are intended to provide benefits that are supplemental to Class A services described above and may be made available to registrants at the discretion of accredited registrars.

  • Bulk Zone File Access

    In addition to the Registry Services mentioned in the preceding sections of this document, Diversitas would provide a Bulk Zone File Access Program that would enable Registrars and other interested parties to obtain bulk access to the .org zone files. In making this resource available, it is Diversitas' goal to a) reduce the load placed on nameservers by data-mining programs that are often used to accelerate domain name availability checking and b) provide the complete database in a consistent format that enables compilation of industry statistics as well as facilitate services such as alternative name suggestion.

    • Bulk Zone File Access will be provided to requesting parties on a subscription basis.
    • The subscription intervals on which Bulk Zone File Access will be made available are monthly, weekly or daily.
  • Wait Listing Service

    If ICANN approves an amendment to Appendix G of the .com and .net registry agreements to add pricing for the VGRS proposed Wait Listing Service (WLS), Diversitas will provide the WLS offering for the .org TLD in the same way it is provided for .com and .net by VGRS. These WLS subscriptions would be accepted on a first-come first-served basis as follows:

    • The WLS system will acquire a given domain name on behalf of a WLS subscriber if that domain name is deleted for any reason.

    • This transaction to acquire the specified name occurs in fractions of a second, and will be accompanied by an outbound e-mail to the subscriber notifying them of the successful registration.

    • Only one WLS subscription may exist on a given .org domain name at any time.

    • Each subscription under the WLS will have a term limited to one-year. There are no grace periods for WLS.

    • If ICANN implements a redemption grace period for deleted names, such a period will be incorporated into the .org WLS offering.

    • The domain names, specified in each WLS subscription, may be exchanged for another domain name up to a maximum of five times over the life of the subscription.

    • After the .org domain name underlying an active WLS subscription has been deleted, the name will be automatically re-registered through an ICANN-accredited registrar pre-selected by the registrant at the time that the WLS subscription was placed.
Class C Services: Other Services

Unlike the Class A and Class B services described above, the following services would not require any linkage to the .org registry database. Like Class B services, these would be optional for registrars. They are indicative of the other services that Diversitas will consider to offer to benefit .org registrants.

  • Site Authentication - "Seal Program"

    Diversitas intends to provide Authentication services similar to those deployed for the .pro TLD. However, these services will be adapted for use with .org URLs so that Internet consumers may place a higher degree of confidence in the authenticity of the not-for-profit organizations being represented to them on the Web. Sites that are authenticated will receive a time-stamped seal image that is to be affixed to the registrant's web site, where its URL ends in .org. This service will provide many registrants of .org domain names with the opportunity to display a certifying credential that distinguishes them uniquely as not-for-profits entities, while simultaneously allowing .org to remain an unrestricted gTLD.
  • Consumer Authentication Service

    One of VeriSign's newest products is the Consumer Authentication Service that confirms the identity of an individual or organization. Diversitas will explore with VeriSign the advantage of using this product over that of developing alternate or additional site verification products.
  • Search Engine Submission

    This service improves the chances of not-for-profit organizations and their causes to be discovered by Internet users. A VeriSign service, known as SubmitWizard, will submit a web site to more than 190 leading search engines and directories and give sites the best chance to appear in search results ranking. Features include the META tag Generator, Monthly Automatic Resubmission, Uptime Monitoring, Link Popularity Reports and Web Site Optimization.
  • DNS Hosting with Back-up E-mail

    As its name implies, this VeriSign designed service provides an outsourced solution for basic DNS management and a disaster recovery process for an registrant's primary e-mail server.

    • E-mail Back-up provides email store and forward capabilities by creating an additional DNS MX record and designating the record as the e-mail back-up server.

    • When the registrant enrolls in this service, the UIA Team will automatically add its back-up mail server as an MX record for the registrant's domain.

    • "MX" (Mail Exchanger) records are used to specify what server on the Internet is running e-mail software and is configured to handle e-mail for the registrant's domain.

    • Whenever the primary mail server is unavailable, this service will store incoming mail on a back-up mail server.

    • While accepting e-mail for the primary server, the e-mail back-up server periodically checks to see if the primary server is back online.

    • The back-up server will attempt to redeliver e-mail to the registrant's primary mail server for 10 days before returning it to the sender as undeliverable. The total storage available is 50mb per domain name, and the maximum message size is 10mb.

    • Once the primary server is back online, the Back-up E-mail service forwards the e-mail to the primary e-mail server, and recipients can retrieve their e-mail.

    • Back-up E-mail service requires that the DNS be hosted with VeriSign for the domain name for which Back-up E-mail service is provided.
  • DNS Hosting with Web Forwarding

    This VeriSign service provides the ability for a not-for-profit entity to redirect their .org URL to one or multiple existing URLs with or without cloaking. Cloaking is a special kind of web forwarding that permits the .org URL to remain displayed within the visitor's address bar browser while displaying the contents of another URL, providing visitors with a seamless experience.

    • When the web forwarding system receives a request to forward other URLs to the not-for-profit organization's .URL , it creates a "A" hidden record that points to the destination URL.

    • Additionally, if cloaking is enabled, not only does the system redirect the visitor to the URL of your choosing, but also provides an invisible frame in order to hide the destination URL.

    • Web forwarding service requires that the DNS be hosted with VeriSign for the domain name for which the web forwarding service is provided.

C26. State the maximum price you propose for each Registry Service identified in item C25.

Figure C26-1 lists a variety of Registry Services. The prices shown for those in the top section (marked *** and described in Section C27) are the maximum wholesale prices that registrars will be charged. The prices shown for services in the bottom section for various reasons cannot be fixed at this time and are indicative of the prices that will be charged. All prices are in $US.

Service Description Term of Service Billable Unit Price/Unit
Core Registry Services (+whois) 1 - 10 years Per domain $6.00/yr
Internationalised Domain Names Same as Core Registry Services
Wait Listing Service 1 year  Per domain tbd
Pricing to match WLS for .com and .net
Bulk Zone File Access Program Daily access $5,000/month
Weekly access $500/month
Monthly access FREE
Site Authentication "Seal Program"

Domestic

International
1 year   Per domain $50/yr
1 year   Per domain $62.50/yr
Search Engine Submission

Site Submit STD

Site Submit PRO
1-year   Per URL $29.95/yr
1-year   Per URL $124.95/yr
Back-up E-mail

1 - 1,000 zones

1,000 - 10,000+ zones

 (99% up-time service level)
1-year   Per zone $8/yr
1-year   Per zone $7/yr
DNS Hosting & Web Forwarding

1 - 1,000 zones

1,000 - 10,000+ zones

 (99% up-time service level)
1-year   Per zone $8/yr
1-year  Per zone $7/yr

Figure C26-1: Maximum Pricing of Services

Plans for Additional Registry Services to Benefit .org

In addition to the enhanced services cited in the preceding section, Diversitas plans to persist with innovation and continually expand the scope of available services in order to adapt to the changing needs of the not-for-profit community. The following services are an example of the potential offerings that Diversitas is considering introducing.

Online Fundraising Tools

In recognition of the fund-raising challenges shouldered by most members of the not-for-profit community, UIA intends to consider providing tools that enable them to quickly and easily conduct fund-raising activities on the web. These tools will assist them in addressing issues such as creating a web site, accepting fees and donations via online credit card transactions, creating and managing mail campaigns, and building contact databases of donor information.

Directory Listings

In addition to the web presence that most members of the not-for-profit community are likely to establish using their .org registration, Diversitas would provide Listing Services Online/Offline Directories. Since the global footprint of the not-for-profit world extends into countries where Internet penetration is still low, these listing services will play a vital role in the ability for some organizations to build an identity and a public awareness for their mission.

C27. Describe each Registry Service (as defined in subsection 1.16 of the model .org Registry Agreement) that you propose to provide without charging a fee.

Internationalised Domain Names ( IDNs) Testbed Verification

IDNs are domain names represented by native language characters, with an ASCII suffix, such as .org.

Diversitas will continue to offer the VGRS initiated IDN testbed that is available to current .org registrars and registrants. In order to process registrations of IDN.org domain names (as with IDNs for .com and .net), registrars must be become certified and operational under the Shared Registration System (SRS). Registrars with an operational internationalised domain name client must complete a technical evaluation to verify correct internationalised domain name processing for the test bed. Upon successful completion of the evaluation, the registrar will be certified as an internationalised domain name registrar.

Monthly Bulk Zone File Access

Bulk Zone File Access (as described in Section C25) will have subscriptions available on a monthly access basis at no charge.

Real-Time Updates for Whois

The UIA Team will provide the .org TLD with real-time dynamic Whois updates as a result of VGRS's deployment of its new ATLAS platform. This capability is an enhancement to VGRS's Whois system. The real-time dynamic DNS updates are described in greater detail in Section C17.8.

Customer Service Organization

Diversitas will provide first-level customer service for registrars.. The customer service unit will be staffed 7x24. This coverage is essential to handle the variety of registrar issues that may surface in support of the .org TLD. These issues normally focus on connectivity problems, registration problems, reporting problems, domain name or nameserver maintenance, and finally, billing issues. Onsite coverage allows the support team to escalate issues immediately on behalf of the registrars.

The support provided by the customer service unit is described in detail in Section 17.11. A summary of these services and capabilities follow:

  • Language support includes Language Line services for all telephone and language document translations and a free online translation tool on AltaVista to interpret any foreign language e-mail.
  • Support for not only the ASCII domain name registrars but also the IDN test-bed registrars for the .org TLD.
  • Ability to provide telephone, e-mail and web-based support.
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tool provides CSRs and registrars with web-based domain name and nameserver maintenance and account management.
  • Registrar surveys will be conducted twice a year to allow UIA to review feedback from registrars regarding escalation, suggestions, ramp-up or finance issues.

Real-Time Updates for DNS

The UIA Team will provide the .org TLD with real-time dynamic DNS updates as a result of deployment of its new ATLAS platform. This capability is an enhancement to the existing and reliable, robust and secure zone file generation process. The real-time dynamic DNS updates are described in greater detail in Section C17.4.

C28. Describe the technical performance (including quality-of-service commitments) you propose to make. See http://www.icann.org/tlds/agreements/name/registry-agmt-appd-29jun01.htm for an example. The successor operator will be expected to meet the Cross-Network Nameserver Performance Requirements set forth in section 2.1 of the document at the above URL.

Service Levels (Availability and Performance)

As the proposed provider of back-end registration services for the UIA .org Registry, VGRS currently has contractual service levels in place for the provisioning function of the .org registry that are identical to those contained in the SLA referenced in the RFP, and would not propose any modification to these service levels. The UIA Team has a demonstrated history of exceeding those service levels. In 2001, the .org registry operated at a combined 99.63% availability (including both planned and unplanned outages). For unplanned outages, it operated at 99.99% availability. Thus far in 2002, it has operated at a combined availability of 99.5%, and for unplanned outages 99.995%. These registry database availability statistics are detailed in Figure C28-1.


Figure C28-1: .Org Registry Database Availability

The current .org registry is capable of handling more than 2,000 transactions per second. Indeed, with the current high transaction volumes associated with desirable domain registrations reentering the market, anything less than several hundred transactions per second is nowhere near acceptable and would not enable the .org registry to meet minimum service levels.

Although the current SLAs require three-second and five-second response times for CHECK and ADD commands, respectively, the current .org registry must significantly exceed these levels in order to process the current transaction load. Figure C28-2 shows the actual historical response times achieved by the existing .org registry. The .org registry database is continually being tuned to improve response times.

Figure C28-1: VGRS SRS Response Times

All SRS service levels included at the reference URL are currently being captured, tracked and reported by the .org registry and would continue in support of the UIA .org Registry.

As previously noted in Section C17.10, DNS services are the most critical services a registry operator must provide. DNS service levels are currently tracked differently from what is noted in Appendix A, Section 2.1 of the referenced URL; however, UIA has no issue with implementing and/or supporting the necessary tools in order to track DNS service as requested within 120 days of contract award. Because of a global constellation of 13 nameserver sites (each with multiple servers behind a load balancer), and because each of these sites is capable of handling tens of thousands of transactions per second, DNS server availability has never been the root cause of any DNS disruptions. DNS server sites are continuously subject to disruptions due to network problems with Internet providers. The important question is whether resolution is impacted. The quality and integrity of the .org zone file is carefully tracked. It achieved a reliability rate of 99.9999995% in 2001, and 100% thus far in 2002.

Whois service is currently provided by servers located in two separate data center facilities and has a reliability rate of at least that of the SRS. Generally, Whois availability is greater than the SRS because not all planned outages require a corresponding Whois outage.

A proposed performance specification, based on the example provided by ICANN in the referenced URL, is included as Appendix C of this document. Many of these mechanisms are already in place. For those that aren't, UIA would implement these reporting and metrics within 120 days of the contract award.

 

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