Bangkok October 2005 Slide 1 Whois Services Jaap Akkerhuis

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 2 Overview •The whois protocol •The whois function •Whois and databases •Privacy concerns •Thick and Thin registries •New: Crisp

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 3 The Whois Protocol •Nicname/whois on port 43 –RFC 812 (Very Obsolete) –RFC 954 (Obsolete) –RFC 3912 •Protocol: –Client opens TCP connection at port 43, sends ASCII, ends with CRLF –Server sends reaction, ends with CRLF, close connection

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 4 Protocol Characteristics •Now authentication •No authorization •1 Question, 1 response –Like the finger protocol (RFC 1288)

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 5 Whois Function •Contents of whois is undefined •Information about anything –people –addresses –conference room scheduling •In ccTLD world –publishing of social data •registrant, •registrar •billing contact

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 6 Whois and database •Most RIRs: Whois information is the database information •Lots of ccTLD's: Whois information is a limited view of database contents –only for interest of ''the public'' –details left out: •Why should the world know about the billing contact?

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 7 Privacy concerns (1) •Some privacy laws forbid some data to be public •Motivate why you publish what –just ''because others do it'' won't work

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 8 Privacy concerns (2) •Data mining prevention –is outside the protocol! –query rate limiting by IP # •No public whois service is an option –Just a web server with whois like info –Detailed info will be asked anyway •More work for the helpdesk •Define that process

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 9 Thin and Thick Model •Thin –Registry: Minimum data •name server delegation info •Some registrar data –Registrar: All other data •registrant info (social data) •Runs the whois •Tick –Registry has all data and provides whois service •controls format and info –Registrar often still responsible for the data

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 10 Thin model Problems •Multiple whois formats •Different info per registrar •Where is the whois server anyway? – Methods: •SRV records in DNS helps a bit •FreeBSD whois – based on silly DNS tricks

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 11 New: CRISP •Cross Registry Information Sharing Protocol •Global entry point for a World Wide whois •Local policy for access •Work in process –RFC 3707 (requirements) •Levels of Authentication –users   lawyers –law enforcement •Regular expression look up

Bangkok October 2005 Slide 12 Questions ???