INTERNET-DRAFT A. Costanzo draft-costanzo-dns-gl-03.txt AKC Computer Services Corp. Expires: December 2000 June 2000 Definition of the DNS GL Resource Record used to encode Geographic Locations 1. Status of this Memo This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026 except that the right to produce derivative works is not granted. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. To learn the current status of any Internet-Draft, please check the "1id-abstracts.txt" listing contained in the Internet- Drafts Shadow Directories on ftp.is.co.za (Africa), nic.nordu.net (Europe), munnari.oz.au (Pacific Rim), ftp.ietf.org (US East Coast, or ftp.isi.edu (US West Coast). Distribution of this memo is unlimited. 2. Abstract This document defines the format of a new Experimental Resource Record (RR) namely GL for the Domain Naming System (DNS), and reserves a corresponding DNS type mnemonic and numerical code XX (decimal). This definition deals with associating geographical host location mappings to host names within a domain. The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY" and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC-2119. Costanzo [Page 1] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 3. Introduction The ideal way to manage and maintain a database of information, such as geographical location of Internet hosts, is to delegate responsibility to local domain administrators. This document resolves the problem of relating host information within the DNS to geographical locations. This definition has been designed to be easy for the person who administrates DNS for a domain. The author hopes that the lack of requiring longitude, latitude and elevation information and merely being able to enter address information, as you would address a postal letter, will mean broad acceptance and use of the GL resource record. The availability of geographical location information will immediately be able to benefit applications in network management, which would enhance and supplement various network tools which currently exist. The Domain Name System is ideally suited to provide geographic location information. The information we desire to make available globally needs to be maintained and updated locally (perfect for DNS). Although several other attempts by various authors have attempted to created resource records that would allow location information on host to be stored and distributed, none, to the authors knowledge, have either gained acceptance on a wide scale or made allowance for location information that is not within the confines of the planet Earth. 4. The GL format GL has the following format: GL 4.1 Rdata Format Rdata has the following format: The format of the RDATA field is two varying length strings separated by a space character. The first, the hierarchical locator, then an address string. Each is quoted (like all strings) only when it has spaces in it, which will never be true for the first string, and almost always for the second. Costanzo [Page 2] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 4.1.1 The Hierarchical Locator The Hierarchical Locator contains the following components (each separated by a period "."): Astronomical Location - (Required) A coded field defining the heavenly body within the known Universe, where the machine resides. The most common entry, "S3" is the planet Earth and is the only currently defined location. Man-made devices (Space Stations, Rockets, Probes, etc.) not residing on planet Earth may have Astronimical Locations defined as well. New locations MUST be registered with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Refer to section 6 for additional information. Country Code - (Required) The country code specifies the country the host computer resides in. The code is a two character fixed length string and may only be included within the Astronimical Location 'S3'. These codes are defined in document ISO 3166-1 and are listed in Appendix A for easy reference. Postal Zone - (Optional) This rdata component supplies the postal code (Zip Code) for the location the host computer resides. For countries that have a multi-segmented postal coding system, the segments should be separated by period(s) ".". This field may be omitted only if the country in which the host machine resides does not use a postal coding system. When all three Hierarchical Locator components exist for an DNS entry, the position being defined is considered to be a "precise position". 4.2 The Quoted String This string should be entered as you would enter an address on a postal letter within the country specified by the Hierarchical Locator. The country code information should not be included within the quoted string. This string is always required and must be present in the RDATA field. The quoted string may be used for both visual reference of the physical address as well as by a software application to help determine a more precise location of the host machine (if the Hierarchical Locator lacks sufficient precision). Costanzo [Page 3] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 The only instance in which any application should attempt to interpret the quoted string is in a case where the country code defines a country that does not use, or has not implemented a postal code system. No software or application should attempt to override a precise position defined by the Hierarchical Locator with information defined within the quoted string data. 5. Example(s) Example 1 (with a postal zone defined): donuts A 192.188.192.1 GL S3.US.45420.1910 "1425 Arbor Avenue, Dayton OH" Example 2 (no postal zone): lorinda A 129.122.1.1 GL S3.SR "Marthastrasse 64, Shawproject, Uitvlug, Parimaribo" Example 3 ; Authoritative data for akc.net. ; ; note in this example: ; uspring, diana and martha (even though the complete postal code was ; not entered) are precisely defined ; ; lorinda, resides in the country of SURINAME, which has not implemented ; a postal coding system. ; ; THIS IS ONLY AN EXAMPLE ; @ IN SOA forme.akc.net. postmaster.akc.net. ( 99071100 ; Serial (yymmddnn) 10800 ; Refresh (3 hours) 3600 ; Retry (1 hour) 3600000 ; Expire (1000 hours) 86400 ; Minimum (24 hours) ) IN NS ns.akc.net. uspring IN A 192.188.192.2 IN MX 5 mail IN HINFO Vax VMS IN GL S3.US.45420.1910 "1425 Arbor Avenue, Dayton OH" ftp IN CNAME uspring Costanzo [Page 4] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 diana IN A 192.188.192.3 IN MX 5 mail IN HINFO Vax VMS IN GL S3.US.07204.1367 "808 Chestnut Street, Roselle Park, NJ" www IN CNAME diana martha IN A 192.188.192.4 IN MX 5 mail IN HINFO Vax VMS IN GL S3.US.07204 "815 Chestnut Willis Place, Roselle Park, NJ" lorinda IN A 129.122.1.1 IN GL S3.SR "Marthastrasse 64, Shawproject, Uitvlug, Parimaribo" 6. Registering New Astronomical Location(s) New Astronomical Locations (ALs) MUST be registered with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). IANA acts as a central registry for these values. IANA may reject or modify the Astronomical Location registration request if it does not meet the criteria as specified in section 4.1.1. Registration requests should be sent via electronic mail to IANA as follows: To: IANA@iana.org Subject: Registration of a new Astronomical Location The mail message must specify the proposed AL. Documentation defining the AL and its proposed purpose must be included. The documentation must either reference an external non-Internet standards document or an existing or soon to be RFC. If applicable, the documentation should contain a draft version of the future RFC. The draft must be submitted as a RFC according to the normal procedure within a reasonable amount of time after the AL registration has been approved. IANA will not register a new Astronmical Location until an actual computer requiring GL data in the DNS resides or will soon reside on a heavenly body other than Earth. Costanzo [Page 5] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS May 2000 7. Notes To Implementors: 7.1 Defining New Astronimical Locations The astronomical location 'S3' is intended to be Sol-Three (i.e. the Earth). The Earth is the 3rd large planet in the solar system. The Sun would be S0 (not that we'd have a computer there), but a solar observatory in orbit might be S0-001. Our moon would be S3-1. Other letters and such for catalogued objects. Additionally, the ISS and Mir space stations could use S3-001 (Mir), S3-002 (ISS) now, if they get connected on IP. This document only defines 'S3' however the authors strongly suggest that the above nomenclature be followed. 7.2 Other possible uses for GL The use of postal codes also is exactly what is needed for credit card address authentication. Sites could (quietly) compare GL info provided on entries from ISPs to what someone enters for additional verification purposes. Costanzo [Page 6] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 8. Appendix A: ISO 3166-1 Country Codes The ISO country codes are merely listed here for easy reference and may become out-of-date in this document. Any changes in the ISO specification supercede this appendix and the ISO specification must be followed. AFGHANISTAN AF ALBANIA AL ALGERIA DZ AMERICAN SAMOA AS ANDORRA AD ANGOLA AO ANGUILLA AI ANTARCTICA AQ ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA AG ARGENTINA AR ARMENIA AM ARUBA AW AUSTRALIA AU AUSTRIA AT AZERBAIJAN AZ BAHAMAS BS BAHRAIN BH BANGLADESH BD BARBADOS BB BELARUS BY BELGIUM BE BELIZE BZ BENIN BJ BERMUDA BM BHUTAN BT BOLIVIA BO BOSNIA AND HERZEGOWINA BA BOTSWANA BW BOUVET ISLAND BV BRAZIL BR BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY IO BRUNEI DARUSSALAM BN BULGARIA BG BURKINA FASO BF BURUNDI BI CAMBODIA KH CAMEROON CM CANADA CA CAPE VERDE CV CAYMAN ISLANDS KY CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CF CHAD TD CHILE CL CHINA CN CHRISTMAS ISLAND CX Costanzo [Page 7] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS CC COLOMBIA CO COMOROS KM CONGO CG COOK ISLANDS CK COSTA RICA CR COTE D'IVOIRE CI CROATIA HR CUBA CU CYPRUS CY CZECH REPUBLIC CZ DENMARK DK DJIBOUTI DJ DOMINICA DM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DO EAST TIMOR TP ECUADOR EC EGYPT EG EL SALVADOR SV EQUATORIAL GUINEA GQ ERITREA ER ESTONIA EE ETHIOPIA ET FALKLAND ISLANDS (MALVINAS) FK FAROE ISLANDS FO FIJI FJ FINLAND FI FRANCE FR FRANCE, METROPOLITAN FX FRENCH GUIANA GF FRENCH POLYNESIA PF FRENCH SOUTHERN TERRITORIES TF GABON GA GAMBIA GM GEORGIA GE GERMANY DE GHANA GH GIBRALTAR GI GREECE GR GREENLAND GL GRENADA GD GUADELOUPE GP GUAM GU GUATEMALA GT GUINEA GN GUINEA-BISSAU GW GUYANA GY HAITI HT HEARD AND MC DONALD ISLANDS HM HONDURAS HN HONG KONG HK HUNGARY HU Costanzo [Page 8] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 ICELAND IS INDIA IN INDONESIA ID IRAN (ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF) IR IRAQ IQ IRELAND IE ISRAEL IL ITALY IT JAMAICA JM JAPAN JP JORDAN JO KAZAKHSTAN KZ KENYA KE KIRIBATI KI KOREA, DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KP KOREA, REPUBLIC OF KR KUWAIT KW KYRGYZSTAN KG LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC LA LATVIA LV LEBANON LB LESOTHO LS LIBERIA LR LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA LY LIECHTENSTEIN LI LITHUANIA LT LUXEMBOURG LU MACAU MO MACEDONIA, THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MK MADAGASCAR MG MALAWI MW MALAYSIA MY MALDIVES MV MALI ML MALTA MT MARSHALL ISLANDS MH MARTINIQUE MQ MAURITANIA MR MAURITIUS MU MAYOTTE YT MEXICO MX MICRONESIA (FEDERATED STATES OF) FM MOLDOVA, REPUBLIC OF MD MONACO MC MONGOLIA MN MONTSERRAT MS MOROCCO MA MOZAMBIQUE MZ MYANMAR MM NAMIBIA NA NAURU NR NEPAL NP NETHERLANDS NL NETHERLANDS ANTILLES AN NEW CALEDONIA NC Costanzo [Page 9] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 NEW ZEALAND NZ NICARAGUA NI NIGER NE NIGERIA NG NIUE NU NORFOLK ISLAND NF NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS MP NORWAY NO OMAN OM PAKISTAN PK PALAU PW PANAMA PA PAPUA NEW GUINEA PG PARAGUAY PY PERU PE PHILIPPINES PH PITCAIRN PN POLAND PL PORTUGAL PT PUERTO RICO PR QATAR QA REUNION RE ROMANIA RO RUSSIAN FEDERATION RU RWANDA RW ST. HELENA SH SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS KN SAINT LUCIA LC ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON PM SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES VC SAMOA WS SAN MARINO SM SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE ST SAUDI ARABIA SA SENEGAL SN SEYCHELLES SC SIERRA LEONE SL SINGAPORE SG SLOVAKIA SK SLOVENIA SI SOLOMON ISLANDS SB SOMALIA SO SOUTH AFRICA ZA SOUTH GEORGIA AND THE SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS GS SPAIN ES SRI LANKA LK SUDAN SD SURINAME SR SVALBARD AND JAN MAYEN ISLANDS SJ SWAZILAND SZ SWEDEN SE SWITZERLAND CH SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC SY Costanzo [Page 10] EXPIRES IN SIX MONTHS June 2000 TAIWAN, PROVINCE OF CHINA TW TAJIKISTAN TJ TANZANIA, UNITED REPUBLIC OF TZ THAILAND TH TOGO TG TOKELAU TK TONGA TO TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TT TUNISIA TN TURKEY TR TURKMENISTAN TM TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS TC TUVALU TV UGANDA UG UKRAINE UA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AE UNITED KINGDOM GB UNITED STATES US UNITED STATES MINOR OUTLYING ISLANDS UM URUGUAY UY UZBEKISTAN UZ VANUATU VU VATICAN CITY STATE (HOLY SEE) VA VENEZUELA VE VIET NAM VN VIRGIN ISLANDS (BRITISH) VG VIRGIN ISLANDS (U.S.) VI WALLIS AND FUTUNA ISLANDS WF WESTERN SAHARA EH YEMEN YE YUGOSLAVIA YU ZAIRE ZR ZAMBIA ZM ZIMBABWE ZW 9. Acknowledgments The author would like to thank James Sears - for his continual editing effort Robert Ullmann - for his input and the members of the namedroppers mailing list for both their support and criticism of this document. 10. Author's Address Al Costanzo AKC Computer Services Corp. P.O. Box 4031, Roselle Park, NJ 07204-0531 www.AKC.com Phone: +1 908 298 9000 Email: AL@AKC.COM Costanzo [Page 11]