Registrars, Resellers et al,

 

            After considering all the problems the blacklisting has been
causing over the past few weeks with resellers, AusRegistry has decided
to provide a solution that should benefit all. It is requested that
registrars pass this information on to all their resellers, this message
has been posted to the registrars list, and the DNS list in an attempt
to ensure all whom are affected are aware of this solution. It will also
be posted on our website.

 

AusRegistry has devised a method to enable resellers whose current
systems rely on incorrectly being able to use the WhoIs service for
domain name checks to continue to check domain names. AusRegistry has
developed a new service that works, similar to WhoIs, that registrars
and resellers are able to connect to and send in a request to determine
the availability of a domain name. The format of the request is a text
string of the domain name followed by a "\r\n" as per a standard WhoIs
request. The service will then respond with either the string
"Available" or "Not Available" depending upon whether or not the domain
is available for registration.

 

For example;

 

To check the availability of ausregistry.net.au the steps would be the
following:

 

1.         Connect to the ip address and port as supplied below

2.         Send the string "ausregistry.net.au\r\n" to the server

3.         The server will respond with "Not Available" and then close
the connection.

 

The above procedure is compatible with standard WhoIs protocol; hence
any reseller interface that is built to use WhoIs will be able to use
this system as well.

 

Alternatively, the standard *nix whois command can be used as follows

 

whois -h <server address> <domain name>

 

NB - THIS SERVICE IS UNLIMITED & COMPLETELY UNRESTRICTED IE. YOU WILL
NOT BE BLACK LISTED FROM THIS SERVICE AND IT IS PUBLICLY AVAILIABLE TO
ANYONE; HOWEVER ANYONE WHO ABUSES THIS SERVICE, IE ANYONE WHO ATTEMPTS
ANY TYPE OF DOS ATTACKS WILL BE BANNED WITHOUT HESITATION.

 

The service is located at:

 

Address:           whois-check.ausregistry.net.au

Port:                 43

 

The standard port 43 whois service will be put back to its previous
limits for ALL IP addresses, the above service solves the need for
anyone to require any more then the normal limit of queries. Anyone who
feels they have a valid reason for needing to perform extra queries
needs to get this approved by auDA, valid reasons do not include to have
a WhoIs search on your web site or to check the availability of domain
names.

 

Note: This service is for .com.au, .net.au, .id.au, .org.au, .asn.au
domain names only; it is also only for checking the availability of
domain names, not hosts or contacts. Registrars are requested to
continue to use the EPP check facilities and develop interfaces for
their resellers ASAP.

 

In line with the introduction of this service, the non EPP (i.e. web
based whois) will have all restrictions reinstated. This will mean that
all registrars, resellers and registrants that were granted initial
immunity will not have the unlimited facility anymore. As stated above,
should you or anyone fall outside these restrictions their query should
be put in writing to auDA. We will only change the limits for those
authorized by auDA. This is not negotiable.

 

Please email me directly should you have any problems or further
questions.

 

Chris Wright

Chief Technology Officer

AusRegistry Pty Ltd

Level 6, 10 Queens Rd.

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3004

Phone: 61 3 9866 1990

Fax: 61 3 9866 1970

Mobile: 61 401 873 798

Email: chris&#167;ausregistry.com.au

 

Don't be afraid to try something new. 
Amateurs built the ark. 
Professionals built the Titanic.