Re: [idn] Why follow IDNA with UTF-8?

["Eric A. Hall" <ehall@ehsco.com>]

"Adam M. Costello" wrote:
> 
> "Eric A. Hall" <ehall@ehsco.com> wrote:
> 
> > The format of a master file needs to be agreed on.  This is required
> > for DNS to operate properly.
> 
> Why?  Zone transfers use the regular binary DNS message format, not the
> text master file format.  As far as I know, having a standard master
> file format is not necessary for DNS to operate properly, but is a
> convenience for DNS administrators because it allows them to switch to
> a different server implementation without having to translate their
> zone files.

The master file is separate from the database. While the use of a common
master file format does make switching convenient, the primary purpose is
to ensure that a zone *can* be moved. People who are moving servers or
recovering from a crash or whatever will email the master file to some
other admin or server, and will expect it to function.

RFC 1035 discusses the master file in several contexts -- not just as the
database -- meaning that it's an integrated part of the spec.

Finally, RFC 1034 says that zone transfers are the "preferred" method but
not the only method to move zones around:

  | 4.3.5. Zone maintenance and transfers
  | 
  | Part of the job of a zone administrator is to maintain the zones
  | at all of the name servers which are authoritative for the zone.
  | When the inevitable changes are made, they must be distributed
  | to all of the name servers.  While this distribution can be
  | accomplished using FTP or some other ad hoc procedure, the
  | preferred method is the zone transfer part of the DNS protocol.

It is legal to use FTP or rdist or anything else to move master files
around. Their format must be known for this to work.

My thinking is that master files for IDNs must be in UTF-8. This ensures
that an authoritative server cannot be upgraded without all of the servers
being upgraded simultaneously. Since all of the servers have to speak
UTF-8, they all need to be upgraded at roughly the same time.

Note that this MUST would be hollow; all of the servers could still run in
cripple-mode by using ACE with the legacy APIs.

But I am sure to get flamed for this anyway.

-- 
Eric A. Hall                                        http://www.ehsco.com/
Internet Core Protocols          http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/coreprot/