Frequently Asked Questions - IDN Registrar FAQ
Information for registrars seeking to offer IDN .INFO domains.
- What IDN scripts does Afilias offer in the .INFO domain?
- How do I correctly display "Check domain" results and responses from the Port 43 Whois?
- Will Afilias maintain a different list of registrars that will be offering IDN registrations? If so, how can I get on it?
- What is the price of a .INFO IDN?
- Are registrars required to pass OT&E before they can register .INFO IDNs?
- What will I be able to test in the sandbox environment?
- Are .INFO IDNs standards compliant?
- How do .INFO IDN names resolve?
- Will the fields in the Whois display UTF-8 or ASCII/Punycode? What about contact fields?
- Can we register domain names with the character "ß" (Eszet) in the German script(DE)?
- Can we list IDNs as nameservers?
- Can IDNs be listed as email addresses in contact fields?
- Do I have to specify a language tag in the Web-based administrative site?
- Will there be any changes to the registrar reports?
- Will my invoice show anything different if I register IDNs?
- Do my customers need to input anything different in order to make their names resolve?
- Can I offer e-mail solutions to my customers who register IDNs?
- What if I incorrectly convert a name into Punycode and attempt to register it? What will happen? Can I be refunded?
- Will we get additional connections to the registry to process IDNs?
Afilias first introduced Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) registrations in 2004. Please see the IDN page for a full list of supported scripts.
All registered .INFO IDNs are available both in the Port 43 and Web-based Whois, just as regular .INFO registrations are today. Both the Port 43 and Web-based Whois will display the Punycode string that has been actually registered as the domain name and an HTML representation of the Unicode equivalent. Registrars wishing to display the Unicode/UTF-8 equivalent for the domain name in question can do so by integrating the output from the “Unicode HTML” field into their Whois applications.
Yes. Afilias maintains a list of registrars who have sold IDN registrations within the last 6 months. This list will be updated approximately twice per year. Registrars interested in being a member of this list should email support@afilias.info.
The price for .INFO IDN is the same fee as regular ASCII .INFO domain names. Registrars may set their own pricing for their customers, however it is encouraged that registrars maintain IDN prices in line with current market prices to facilitate adoption and demand.
No. While registrars are not required to pass OT&E in order to register .INFO IDNs, it is encouraged that all registrars utilize the sandbox and other support mechanisms available to them in order to ensure that they have a complete understanding and technical proficiency to accept and process IDN registrations without problems.
Registrars will be able to test both the Nameprep engine contained in the RTK as well as the XML extensions needed to process an IDN registration. Registrars already proficient with these scripts in the .ORG registry should not have difficulty with their clients.
Yes. .INFO IDNs are completely compliant with the IETF IDN standards and adheres closely to the Robustness Principle, as well as the ICANN IDN guidelines from the start. Registrants (via registrars) will have to declare the intended language (script) of the IDN to be registered, as consistent with the ICANN IDN guidelines; and the registry will accept IDN registrations in Punycode (the IETF standard ACE encoding for IDN).
Afilias is rolling out IDN registrations in a controlled manner that is consistent with the ICANN IDN guidelines in order to ensure that the linguistic context and relevance of IDN registrations have been reasonably taken into consideration and are sensitive to the intended communities.
Since .INFO IDNs will be registered directly into the .INFO zone in the IDN standard Punycode format, IDN-aware applications are able to resolve .INFO IDNs immediately.
At the hostname servers, the registrant will only need to setup their name servers for the Punycode domain (i.e. “xn--probestck-w9a.info” for probestück.info) as they would for regular ASCII domain names. No special consideration should be required (the registrant or hostname server provider however may wish to add a comment in the zonefile as a reminder of the domain the Punycode represents (e.g. Punycode for probestück.info)
The "domain name" field will display the registered name in Punycode (e.g.: xn--probestck-w9a.info). Three additional fields are provided:
- IDN Script: The intended script / language (based on RFC3066) of the IDN as determined by the registrant (e.g. "de" for German)
- Unicode Hex: The IDN in Unicode Hex format (e.g. U+0070 U+0072 U+006F U+0062 U+0065 U+0073 U+0074 U+00FC U+0063 U+006B)
- Unicode HTML: The IDN in HTML entity format (e.g.: probestück)
The remainder of the Whois fields, including contact and name server information, only display ASCII text.
Afilias’ Port 43 only displays the Punycode name registered. In order to display the proper UTF-8 compatible name through their Whois display, registrars will have to use the RTK to configure their systems properly.
The HTML entity field is provided to assist registrars in displaying the IDN in its native form on the Web-front without many, if any, changes to their Whois display pages. Be reminded however, that the Whois domain submit will require changes to handle the conversion of an IDN to Punycode before sending it to the Afilias Port 43 Whois server. More specifically, the registrar must integrate the ToASCII tool in the submit form for their Web Whois in order for the domain check to work properly for IDNs. Registrars may also utilize these three new IDN related fields to provide better display formatting for end-users.
Afilias accepts IDN registrations in compliance with the IETF IDN standards and ICANN IDN guidelines. Registrars are responsible to Nameprep and convert an IDN to Punycode before submitting it for registration to the registry. As such, according to the IDN technical standards, the “ß” (Eszet) is effectively mapped to “ss” based on the Nameprep mechanism. Therefore, in short, YES, you may accept domain registrations from registrants that contain the “ß”, but that information when passed to the registry will essentially be registered as double-s: “ss”. More specifically, Afilias will not recognize or distinguish between a registration for “ß” or “ss” (some what similarly to how the registry treats registrations for “XyZ” or “xyz”). Please note that a name with only Eszet and no other IDN characters must be registered as an ASCII domain name. IDNA-compliant browsers will convert the encoded domain (e.g.: straß.info) into ASCII (e.g.: strass.info).
The Whois fields only support ASCII text. If a registrant wishes to list an IDN as a nameserver, it will be the registrar’s responsibility to convert that domain into Punycode and submit the Punycode domain to the registry.
The Whois fields only support ASCII text. If a registrant wishes to list an IDN as an e-mail address, it will be the registrar’s responsibility to convert that domain into Punycode and submit the Punycode domain to the registry.
Registrars must pay special attention to select the correct language tag when completing IDN registrations through the Web admin site.
No, there are no changes to .INFO registrar reports as a result of the introduction of IDNs. This means that IDNs are listed in their Punycode form.
No, registrars should see no differences in their invoices for IDNs. Registrars should note however that all .INFO IDNs are listed on invoices and in reports in their Punycode form.
Registrants will not be required to utilize any special setup for their IDN. They should configure their hostname servers for the IDN using the Punycode form of the domain (e.g “xn--probestck-w9a.info”) just as they would for ASCII only domains.
End-users (i.e.: regular Internet users) will need to know whether their browser (or other DNS application) is IDN-aware or not. End-users with IDN-aware browsers (or DNS applications) may simply type in the IDN (e.g.: probestück.info), as they would for ASCII only domains to connect to the domain.
Yes. However because the SMTP protocol does not support non-ASCII text, you should require your customers to adopt user names that are only ASCII (not UTF-8) based. E.g.: your customers should set up their email address to be, muller@müller.info or mueller@müller.info rather than müller@müller.info.
It is the responsibility of the registrar to ensure that the proper Punycode equivalent name is registered with the registry. Should a registrar make an error in the conversion process, the same domain create grace period allowance for normal .INFO domains will also be extended to IDN registrations.
No, IDN registrations will afford registrars no extra dedicated connections to the registry.
