closed Root Zone Update Process Study

Outcome

ICANN org thanks the contributors for their thoughtful inputs to this Public Comment proceeding. The org has considered and analyzed the inputs, which will be incorporated in the final version of the study report.

What We Received Input On

The objectives of the Root Zone Update Process Study were to

• investigate whether there is a need to increase (and if so, how) the robustness of the operational arrangements for making changes to the root zone content,
• identify any single points of failure that may exist and,
• should they exist, offer recommendations on how to reduce or eliminate them.

The scope of the study is the processing of change requests to the DNS root zone. The study provider looked for opportunities to improve the overall architecture and process along several dimensions: efficiency, robustness, conformance to policies established by the ICANN community, and confidentiality.

ICANN org requests community review of the initial version of the study.

Background

In April 2020, ICANN org opened a request for proposal to find a contractor to perform the Root Zone Update Process Study called for in the IANA transition proposal as described above. An international consortium led by JAS Global Advisors (ICJ) was selected following ICANN org’s standard procurement processes. The team worked closely with ICANN org (the IANA Functions Operator) staff and in consultation with Verisign (the Root Zone Maintainer) staff to gather information required to perform the study. The team also surveyed many TLD operators, as described in the study.

ICANN org is interested in the community’s feedback on the study, hence this Public Comment.

Supporting Information