Study on Technical Use of Root Zone Label Generation Rules

Purpose: The Root Zone Label Generation Rules Study Group (RZ-LGR-SG) has identified its scope of work [PDF, 128 KB], which is being shared with the community. The SG seeks feedback from the community on whether the questions identified are all relevant for this study and whether there are any other issues it should also consider. 

Current Status: Multiple script-based communities have either finalized their Root Zone Label Generation Rules (RZ-LGR) proposals or in the process of finalizing them. Based on this work, the second version of RZ-LGR has been released, integrating six scripts. RZ-LGR-SG has been constituted to study and make recommendations for the technical use of the RZ-LGR in a harmonized way across Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Top-Level Domains (TLDs). RZ-LGR-SG is currently reviewing the scope of its work and discussing relevant recommendations.

Next Steps: RZ-LGR-SG will consider the community input to finalize the scope of its work, develop the related recommendations and share these recommendations with the community before finalization. The final recommendations will be sent to the ICANN Board for further consideration.

RZ-LGR is being developed by various script-based community groups called Generation Panels (GPs) to provide the definition for a valid Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Top Level Domain (TLD) label and identify its variant labels, following the RZ-LGR Procedure. To date Arabic, Armenian, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Ethiopic, Georgian, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Khmer, Korean, Lao and Thai script GPs have completed and submitted their RZ-LGR proposals. From these, Arabic, Ethiopic, Georgian, Khmer, Lao and Thai scripts have already been integrated into the second version of the RZ-LGR by the Integration Panel. Many of the remaining script communities are now in the process of finalizing their work.

With the availability of the RZ-LGR, the ICANN Board has asked ICANN’s Supporting Organizations and Advisory Committees and Internet Architecture Board  to study and provide recommendations on the technical use of the RZ-LGR in a harmonized way for IDN TLDs, as a prerequisite to determine possible IDN variant TLD management mechanism.

IDN TLDs have been a priority for the ICANN Board for several years, based on the input from the community. The variant labels for IDN TLDs have been an important component for some script communities. Therefore, in 2010, the ICANN Board asked the ICANN organization and the community to investigate feasible approaches for variant labels of IDN TLDs, while putting the variant TLDs on hold until the work was completed.

In 2012, the community examined case studies for six scripts. The analysis noted in the Integrated Issues Report that there were two items to be addressed: (1) there was no universally acceptable definition of what may constitute a variant relationship between IDN TLD labels at the time; and (2) there was no variant management mechanism defined.  Following this report, the ICANN organization and the community developed the RZ-LGR Procedure. This procedure defined what constitutes a variant relationship between IDN TLD labels. In 2013, the ICANN Board endorsed this procedure and asked the ICANN organization and community to undertake it.

• Scope of Study on Technical Use of Root Zone Label Generation Ruleset [PDF, 128 KB]

• Report