Overview

Prior to the IANA stewardship transition, NTIA approval was required for all changes to the DNS root zone management environment, such as the DNSSEC-signing of the root zone, many classes of changes to IANA processes, as well as edits that would be applied by the Root Zone Maintainer to the DNS root zone. The domain names community recommended that post transition, approval of routine content changes to the DNS root zone would no longer be required; However, due to the critical nature of the DNS root, all major architectural changes would require formal approvals.

In the ICG proposal, the domain names community required that a standing committee be put into place that will provide recommendations to the ICANN Board regarding the advisability of moving forward with such architectural changes. ICANN named this committee the Root Zone Evolution Review Committee (RZERC). The RZERC will consider issues raised by any of its members, PTI, or by the CSC.

While the RZERC is not necessarily be the group that considers the details of the issue under consideration, it is responsible for ensuring that those involved in the decision include all relevant bodies and have access to necessary expertise. As such, the RZERC coordinates with relevant organizations and communities, and if appropriate, external experts, to confirm that all affected parties are involved in discussions and recommendations regarding architectural or operational changes to the root zone.

The charter for the RZERC was drafted in collaboration between ICANN and the IOTF, and included numerous review opportunities by the CWG-Stewardship prior to being published for a 30-day public comment period on June 10, 2016.

As per the standard for ICANN public comment process, ICANN reviewed the comments received and made any necessary modifications to the charter, while remaining consistent with the requirements of the ICG proposal. The staff report and final RZERC charter were published on August 8, 2016. On August 9, 2016, the ICANN Board approved and adopted the charter for the RZERC.

On August 1, 2016, ICANN sent a request to the ASO, SSAC, RSSAC, RySG, ccNSO, IETF and Verisign (in its role as the Root Zone Maintainer) to initiate their respective processes to appoint representatives to serve on the RZERC. By August 12, 2016, ICANN received notification of representatives from all appointing organizations and formed the RZERC.

Inaugural Composition of the RZERC

Relevant Links

• RZERC Charter
• RZERC Request for Appointment
• IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group (ICG) Proposal
• Implementation Oversight Task Force (IOTF) Public Mail List Archive