Whois Specification – Public Whois
Overview
The Whois service is compliant with RFC 954. The primary Whois services substantially consist of:
- Port 43 Whois services (thick registry)
- Port 43 Whois services (thin registry)
- Web-based Whois services (thin and thick registry)
The Registry Operator will offer other, enhanced Whois services, some of which are defined in this document.
The primary Whois services are described in more detail below.
Public Interest Registry's (PIR) Whois service is the authoritative Whois service for all second-level Internet domain names registered in the.org top-level domain and for all hosts registered using these names. This service is available to anyone. It is available via port 43 access and through the PIR web site.
PIR will initially operate the .org registry Whois in a manner consistent with a "thin" registry (i.e. similar to its operation by its current Registry Operator, Verisign, and as further detailed in the specifications below).
Upon conclusion of the Transition Process (as detailed in Appendix J), the .org Whois service (thick registry) will provide a central, openly accessible system for information regarding a particular second level domain name registration in the .org TLD.
The Registry Whois system has been designed for robustness, availability, and performance. Provisions for detection of abusive usage, like excessive numbers of queries from one source, have been taken into account, and other countermeasures against abuse will be activated if necessary.
The Registry Operator will initially provide at least two operational Whois databases running simultaneously at two different locations. The Whois databases will be situated on a high-availability system at both the main data center and the disaster recovery site.
All Whois servers will run an update daemon. For Whois servers at the main data center, the update application will only be accessible from the internal network. External Whois sites, including the Disaster Recovery site Whois server, will utilize a secure communication channel for these updates. An update scheme such as described above ensures that the Whois data is secure, accurate, and optimizes bandwidth usage.
The Whois servers shall provide results for ASCII domains, and will not initially support the lookup of non-ASCII-script names (also known as IDNs). RACE-based IDNs were registered by the previous registry operator for .org; Whois information for these names may being accessed using the ASCII equivalent. As described in Appendix C, the Registry Operator proposes to introduce services supporting for Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) in the future. Details of these proposals will be provided to ICANN for its review and approval, consistent with ICANN's overall plans for the introduction of IDNs.
The status values reported will be those stated in http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-provreg-epp-domain-07.txt except that domains in PendingDelete status will be reported as either PENDING-DELETE (Restorable) or PENDING-DELETE (Scheduled for release) as appropriate.
This Appendix is subject to change by agreement of Registry Operator and ICANN during the design process as well as during the IETF standards process. Further, Registry Operator reserves the right to develop these services internally or out-source management of the facilities to an external contractor under terms that are consistent with the standards of the proposed service.
The Whois service is described in more detail below.
1. Port 43 Whois service (thick registry)
1. The format of responses will follow a semi-free text format outline below, preceded by a mandatory disclaimer specifying the rights of the Registry Operator, and of the user querying the database.
2. Each data object shall be represented as a set of key/value pairs, with lines beginning with keys, followed by the colon as a delimiter, followed by the value.
3. All Whois data will be in the ASCII character set, which has encoding compatible with UTF-8 for easy transition to including internationalized data, and as per the IETF's recommendations on i18n in Internet protocols. For fields where more than one value exists, multiple key/value pairs with the same key shall be allowed (for example to list multiple name servers). The first key/value pair after a blank line should be considered the start of a new record, and should be considered as identifying that record, and is used to group data, such as hostnames and IP addresses, or a domain name and registrant information, together.
4. All record and key types shall be specified in a publicly available description on the Registry Operator's website. The key names and record types should change as infrequently as possible, and only upon the agreement of ICANN and the Registry Operator.
2. Port 43 Whois service (thin registry)
1. The format of responses for thin registry output will be similar to the guidelines listed above for thick-registry Whois.
2. The Whois contact information will indicate that the Whois information for this domain is not authoritative and indicate an URL to the Whois server of the registrar responsible for providing the domain Whois information. The administrative and technical contact blocks will be used to communicate this information.
3. Web-based Whois service (thick and thin registry)
Registry Operator will make available a Whois interface on its website which can also be linked to by each ICANN-Accredited Registrar that is a party to a Registry-Registrar Agreement with Registry Operator. The information available in the Whois database will be returned as a results page on the website.
For the fields contained in the returned Data in the Results Page on the website (identical to the port 43-thick registry Whois), and an example of a record returned, please see the Whois Output Fields section below. When thick registry Whois information is unavailable, the Registry shall provide thin registry Whois information, as specified in the Whois Output Fields section below.
The only purpose of this web interface is to provide a user-friendly interface for Whois queries. It does not provide any additional features beyond what is described in the port 43 section of this appendix.
4. Minimum Data Update Frequency
The update frequency of Whois data is specified in Section 4.2 of Appendix D.
5. Protocols Through Which Access is Provided
Access to the Whois data is provided through a subset of the Whois protocol, supporting exact queries for domain names, contact IDs, registrar name, nameserver hostname and nameserver ip-address. The Whois data will also be accessible through the Registry web interface as described above. Apart from as specified above, bulk access to the Whois data will be made available as specified in Appendix P and Appendix Q.
6. Security
General security measures such as password aging policy, firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) and network traffic monitoring systems will be provided for the Whois services, as further described in the Security section of Appendix C.
The Whois output in the thick registry model, which will be the only supported model at the completion of the Transition Plan, will be returned with the respective key/value pairs, which will eliminate the need for registrars to store additional information in their own local database, then combine it with the registry Whois information when they present it to end users. The proposed capability will also ensure that end users will view the same information no matter which registrar they use to retrieve Whois data.
7. Query and Output for Reports Delivered by Web Page and Port 43
7.1 Whois Queries
For all Whois queries, the client provides a character string for which information is desired and optionally, the object type and interpretation control parameters to limit the search. If the object type and interpretation control parameters are not specified, Whois searches for the character string in the Name fields of the Domain object. Object type controls are available to limit the search to just data in the specified object. Interpretation controls are available to limit the search to just the ID field of an object, or to specify partial keyword matching or to provide full or summary output.
Queries can be made as either an "exact search" or as a "partial search", both of which are insensitive to the case of the input string.
An exact search specifies the full string to search for in the database field. An exact match between the input string and the field value is required. For example: "publicinterestregistry.org" will only match with "publicinterestregistry.org".
A partial search specifies the start of the string to search for in the database field. Every record with a search field that starts with the input string will be considered a match. For example: "publicinterestregistry.org" will match with "publicinterestregistry.org" as well as "publicinterestregistry.org, Inc."
By default, if multiple matches are found for a query, then a summary of all the matching results is presented. A second query is required to retrieve the specific details of one of the matching records.
If only a single match is found, then full details will be provided. Full detail consists of the data in the matching object as well as the data in any associated objects. For example, a query that results in a domain object will include the data from the associated name server and contact objects. Additional information and samples of the various types of Whois result records are available in the Whois Output Fields and Sample Whois Output sections below.
7.2 Query Controls
Whois query controls fall into two categories: those that specify the type of field and those that modify the interpretation of the input or determine the type of output to provide.
Object Type Control
The following keywords restrict a search to a specific object type:
| DOmain: |
Search only domain objects. The input string is searched in the Name field. |
| HOst: |
Search only name server objects. The input string is searched in the Name field and the IP Address field. |
| Contact: |
Search only contact objects. The input string is searched in the ID field. |
| Registrar: |
Search only registrar objects. The input string is searched in the Name field. |
By default, if no object type control is specified, then the Name field of the Domain object is searched.
Interpretation Control
The following keywords modify the interpretation of the input or determine the level of output to provide:
| ID: |
Search on ID field of an object. This applies to Contact IDs and Registrar IDs. |
| Full or '=': |
Always show detailed results, even for multiple matches |
| Summary or SUM: |
Always show summary results, even for single matches |
| '%': |
Used as a suffix on the input, will produce all records that start with that input string |
| '_': |
Used as a suffix on the input, will produce all records that start with that input string and have one and only one additional character |
By default, if no interpretation control keywords are used, the output will include full details if a single record is found and a summary if multiple matches are found.
7.3 Whois Output Fields
This section describes the output fields provided for each type of object. The Registry Operator will not be required to post Whois Output Fields that are not required for posting in the Registrar Accreditation Agreement.
Domain Record
A Whois query that results in domain information will return the following fields from the Domain object and the associated data from Host and Contact objects. This set of data is also referred to as the Domain Record.
Domain Name
Sponsoring Registrar
Domain Status
Registrant, Administrative, Technical and Billing Contact Information including
Contact ID
Contact Name
Contact Organization
Contact Address, City, State/Province, Country
Contact Postal Code
Contact Phone, Fax, E-mail
Name Servers associated with this domain
Domain Registration Date
Domain Expiration Date
Domain Last Updated Date
In the case of domain names for which thick-registry Contact object data is not available, the registrant, administrative, technical and billing contact information is not available at the Registry. Accordingly, the Contact objects associated with these domain objects will not contain relevant contact information. The Whois output will designate such Contact object Name fields with the value "CONTACT NOT AUTHORITATIVE", and E-Mail field with the value "not@available". The Whois output will be in a format consistent with the illustrative example displayed in the "Thin Registry Output" of Section 7.4.1
Name Server Record
A Whois query that results in name server information will return the following. This set of information is referred to as the Name Server Record or Host Record.
Name Server Host Name
Name Server IP Addresses if applicable Sponsoring Registrar
Name Server Creation Date
Name Server Last Updated Date
Contact Record
A Whois query that results in contact information will return the following. This set of information is referred to as the Contact Record.
Contact ID
Sponsoring registrar
Contact Name
Contact Organization
Contact Address, City, State/Province, Country
Contact Postal Code
Contact Phone, Fax, E-mail
Contact Registration Date
Contact Last Updated Date
Registrar Record
A Whois query that results in registrar information will return the following. This set of information is referred to as the Registrar Record.
Registrar ID (conforming to the IANA registrar-ids registry)
Registrar Name
Registrar Status
Registrar Address, City, State/Province, Country
Registrar Postal Code
Registrar Phone, Fax, E-mail
Registrar Administrative Contacts
Registrar Technical Contacts
Registrar Billing Contacts
Registrar URL (registration services)
Registrar Creation Date
Registrar Last Updated Date
Status
7.4 Query Examples
7.4.1 Domain Record
A Whois query that results in domain information will return the following fields from the Domain object and the associated data from host and contact objects. This set of data is also referred to as the Domain Record.
Thick Registry Output
The following output is an example of a Whois response for a domain that is stored in the registry as an EPP-based domain (i.e. response from a thick registry).
Input:
publicinterestregistry.org
-or-
domain publicinterestregistry.org
Output:
Domain ID:D2345-LRMS
Domain Name:PUBLICINTERESTREGISTRY.ORG
Created On:09-Oct-2001 14:33:18 UTC
Last Updated On:25-Jul-2002 01:42:38 UTC
Expiration Date:09-Oct-2003 14:33:18 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:R1234-LRMS
Status:ACTIVE
Registrant ID:C123-LRMS
Registrant Name:Domain Administrator
Registrant Organization:Public Interest Registry
Registrant Street1:1775 Wiehle Avenue
Registrant City:Reston
Registrant Postal Code:20190
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.703-326-9880
Registrant Email:domainadmin@publicinterestregistry.org
Admin ID:C1234-LRMS
Admin Name:Domain Administrator
Admin Organization:Public Interest Registry
Admin Street1:1775 Wiehle Avenue
Admin City:Reston
Admin Postal Code:20190
Admin Country:US
Admin Phone:+ 1.703-326-9880
Admin Fax:+ 1.703-326-9881
Admin Email:domainadmin@publicinterestregistry.org
Tech ID:C123-LRMS
Tech Name:Domain Tech
Tech Organization:Public Interest Registry
Tech Street1:1775 Wiehle Avenue
Tech City:Reston
Tech Postal Code:20190
Tech Country:US
Tech Phone:+1.703-326-9880
Tech Fax:+1.703-326-9881
Tech Email:domaintech@publicinterestregistry.org
Billing ID:C1234-LRMS
Billing Name:Domain Administrator
Billing Organization:Public Interest Registry
Billing Street1:1775 Wiehle Avenue
Billing City:Reston
Billing Postal Code:20190
Billing Country:US
Billing Phone:+1.703-326-9880
Billing Fax:+ 1.703-326-9881
Billing Email:domainadmin@publicinterestregistry.org
Name Server:NS1.PUBLICINTERESTREGISTRY.ORG 192.168.0.100
Name Server:NS2.PUBLICINTERESTREGISTRY.ORG 10.0.0.100
Thin Registry Output
The following output is an example of a response from the Whois server for a domain that is RRP-based and, thus, emulates a thin registry response. In this way the response will be inclusive of a thin registry Whois server but will contain extra information to indicate that the contact information is not authoritative.
Input:
publicinterestregistry.org
-or-
domain publicinterestregistry.org
Output:
Domain ID:D1234-LRMS
Domain Name:PUBLICINTERESTREGISTRY.ORG
Created On:09-Oct-2001 14:33:18 UTC
Last Updated On:25-Jul-2002 01:42:38 UTC
Expiration Date:09-Oct-2003 14:33:18 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:R123-LRMS
Domain Status:ACTIVE
Registrant ID:CNT-1111
Registrant Name:CONTACT NOT AUTHORITATIVE
Registrant Address:N/A
Registrant City:N/A
Registrant Country:N/A
Registrant Postal Code:N/A
Admin ID:CNT-2222
Admin Name:CONTACT NOT AUTHORITATIVE
Admin Street1:Whois Server:whois.publicinterestregistry.org
Admin Street2:Referral URL:http://www.publicinterestregistry.org
Admin City:N/A
Admin Country:N/A
Admin Postal Code:N/A
Admin Email:not@available
Tech ID:CNT-2222
Tech Name:CONTACT NOT AUTHORITATIVE
Tech Street1:Whois Server:whois.publicinterestregistry.org
Tech Street2:Referral URL:http://www.publicinterestregistry.org
Tech City:N/A
Tech Country:N/A
Tech Postal Code:N/A
Tech Email:not@available
Billing ID:CNT-2222
Billing Name:CONTACT NOT AUTHORITATIVE
Billing Street1:Whois Server:whois.publicinterestregistry.org
Billing Street2:Referral URL:http://www. publicinterestregistry.org
Billing City:N/A
Billing Country:N/A
Billing Postal Code:N/A
Billing Email:not@available
Name Server:NS1.PUBLICINTERESTREGISTRY.ORG 192.168.0.100
Name Server:NS2.PUBLICINTERESTREGISTRY.ORG 10.0.0.100
7.4.2 Nameserver Record
A Whois query that results in Nameserver information will return the following. This set of information is referred to as the Nameserver Record.
Input:
host ns01.publicinterestregistry.org
-or-
host 192.168.0.100
Output:
Host ID:H123456-LRMS
Host Name:NS01.PUBLICINTERESTREGISTRY.ORG
Sponsoring Registrar:R123-LRMS
Created On:11-Sep-2001 20:21:50 UTC
Last Updated On:11-Sep-2001 20:22:58 UTC
IP Address:192.168.0.100
7.4.3 Contact Record
A Whois query that results in contact information will return the following. This set of information is referred to as the Contact Record.
Input:
contact CNT-2222
Output:
Contact ID:CNT-2222
Sponsoring Registrar:R1234-LRMS
Name:Domain Administrator
Organization:Public Interest Registry
Street1:1775 Wiehle Avenue
City:Reston
Postal Code:20190
Country:US
Phone:+ 1.703-326-9880
Fax:+ 1.703-326-9881
Email:domainadmin@publicinterestregistry.org
Created On:09-Oct-2001 14:33:12 UTC
7.4.4 Registrar Record
A Whois query that results in Registrar information will return the following. This set of information is referred to as the Registrar Record.
Input:
registrar = REGISTRAR1 INC
Output:
Registrar ID:REGH-42
Registrar Organization:Registrar1 Inc
Street1:52 John Doe Road
City:Dublin
Postal Code:24
Country:IE
Phone:+353.12354333
Fax:+353.12354337
Email:info@registrar1.org
Created On:23-Jul-2001 16:50:58 UTC
Last Updated On:03-Oct-2002 15:34:36 UTC
Status:OK
8. Extended Whois (xWhois)
Registry Operator will use its best commercial efforts to develop and implement an extended Whois (xWhois) service. This subscription-based service is intended to provide:
An interface to the Whois database that will permit interested third parties to conduct enhanced Whois searches using Boolean and character string technologies.
Enhanced search functions will include the ability to identify
- Registered domain names that incorporate a certain character string, or
- All domain names registered by a certain registrant.
Support for a new lookup key, "list_registrars" which will generate a list of all accredited registrars pursuant to a query.
This service is intentionally separated from the standard Whois service due to the high transaction loads that will be placed on the standard service due to the thick-registry model, and the requirements to meet service level agreements. While the RFC954-conformant Whois service will be updated in near real-time, there is no need for the enhanced service to have this requirement due to the nature of its usage. The enhanced service will not be required to conform to service level agreements, so the registry can be more liberal enabling enhanced functionality that places additional load on the enhanced services infrastructure. The maximum update latency of the enhanced service will be 48 hours after updates to the core registry database are received.
For subscribers to the xWhois service, a web-based user interface will be available to define the desired output fields and search criteria. A batch process generates the report and notifies the subscriber that it is available for download. xWhois queries will search all records from a copy of the Registry database that will be updated once every two days.
9. Extensible-Field Capability
PIR reserves the right to introduce the ability for registrars to use XRP, to add customized fields to a record in the registry database. These fields will appear in an "additional information" section of the Whois data. The maximum number of custom fields allowed per record is yet to be determined.
This fee-based extensible-field capability will eliminate the need for registrars to store additional information in their own local database, then combine it with the registry Whois information when they present it to end users. The proposed capability will also ensure that end users will view the same information no matter which registrar they use to retrieve Whois data.
References
[IETF-WHOIS] http://www.imc.org/ietf-whois/
[RFC954] K. Harrenstien et al.: "NICNAME/WHOIS", RFC-954, October 1985.
[XML-WHOIS] R. Wesson: "Whois Export and Exchange Format", http://www.icann.org/committees/whois/draft-wesson-whois-export-03.txt, Work in Progress.
[IETF-CRISP] A. Newton: “Cross Registry Internet Service Protocol (CRISP) Requirements” http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-ietf-crisp-requirements-01.txt
Earlier drafts:
23 October 2002
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