[RSSAC Caucus] From Jeff - Messaging Workshop: Explaining the Root Server System

[Robert Carolina]

Jeff asked me to send this to the Caucus on his behalf.


=== FROM JEFF OSBORN ===

Dear RSSAC Caucus Members

On Thursday June 13 at 10:45 local Kigali time, we will hold an RSSAC workshop (number 3 of 3) to discuss our "Messaging" project at ICANN 80.

This is our effort to explain the Root Server System to people who work far outside the world of DNS. We hope you will be able to attend and we will welcome your feedback during and after the workshop.


THE PROBLEM WE IDENTIFIED AND OUR RESPONSE

Last year, we identified the need to create a better set of tools to explain the operation of the RSS to the growing list of law makers, regulators, business people, and other decision makers who take an increasing interest in our work.

Most DNS explainers describe a so-called "cold start" scenario: the resolver is assumed to know nothing and its cache is empty. These materials say that the resolver starts first at the RSS, then queries the TLD authoritative server, etc, until the address is resolved.

This type of description gives many people the (false) impression that the RSS is polled each and every time a query is sent to a resolver. As a result, many people (incorrectly) believe that the success of each and every click on a link depends upon an individual call to the RSS. The RSS then sounds like some sort of gate keeper standing at the entrance to the Internet.

Of course we know that operational reality is very different.

We decided the better way to explain the RSS is to turn this picture upside down and describe address resolution as it happens in operation. Resolvers first check their own cache for answers before asking authoritative servers. Then resolvers only call as many authoritative servers as are necessary. Viewed this way, calls to the RSS are exceedingly rare. We estimate that only 1 in 5,000 or 1 in 10,000 address queries triggers a call to the RSS.


MESSAGING PROJECT DELIVERABLES

There are currently two deliverables inspired by this project.

The first deliverable is a 15-page document titled "Overview of the DNS and Root Server System." It is designed to explain DNS and the RSS using the approach outlined above. Our Work Group has been developing this document over the past year. This is a link to the draft we will be discussing in Kigali:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ch3AU3jYai-zPqDwbcDfQyP8J05n1VBNSLDjDo691ro/edit?usp=sharing

The second deliverable, is a 20-30 minute talk with slides that summarises the main points of the explainer document. I have now delivered previews of this talk to various "pre-launch" audiences in the ICANN community. Their feedback has influenced revisions to the talk and to the explainer document.


I look forward to seeing many of you in Kigali next week.


Sincerely 

Jeff Osborn

=== END ===




--
Robert Carolina
General Counsel
Internet Systems Consortium
rob at isc.org
My normal time zone: UTC+0/UTC+1
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/robertcarolina/

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