[ga] Security and stability of the DNS (Was: Question about Making Choices

[Stephane Bortzmeyer <bortzmeyer@xxxxxx>]

On Sat, Nov 18, 2006 at 08:59:53PM -0800,
 Karl Auerbach <karl@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote 
 a message of 42 lines which said:

> Today we are using an internet that is only solid and robust by
> virtue of luck.  Nobody is obligated to ensure that the upper tiers
> of DNS are operated well or have the means to recover after a
> disaster.
...
> So far the net (and ICANN) have been lucky.  But do we really want the 
> technical stability of the net to continue to depend on sheer luck?

You are quite harsh. Many *people* are obligated to do their work
well. ISC employees (who manage F-root) have to work well or they are
fired. Verisign employees (who manage A-root and J-root) are in a
similar position. AFNIC employees (who manages ".fr") are accountable
to their management, too.

It is true that there is not *one* organisation which has a global
responsability for the proper operation of the DNS (should it be the
case?). But there are many entities which do something for the DNS to
work. Let's mention OARC (http://oarc.isc.org/), for instance (slides
from the last meeting are available,
http://public.oarci.net/oarc/workshop-2006/agenda/).

So, the DNS does not work by luck. It works because many serious,
knowledgeable and dedicated people work on it. Some do not answer
directly to George W. Bush but they all answer to someone, they are
not students working on the DNS in their free time, from the basement
of their parent's home!