|> -----Original Message-----
|> From: Saliya Wimalaratne [mailto:saliya§hinet.net.au]
|> Sent: Sunday, June 15, 2003 2:20 PM
|> To: dns§lists.auda.org.au
|> Subject: RE: [DNS] web.id.au
|>
|>
|> On Sat, 14 Jun 2003, Dassa wrote:
|>
|> > enterprise itself is just as valid as any other.  For instance the
|> > impact of a hosting provider or ISP going out of business or
providing
|> > shabby service would have even more impact than DNS being down.
|>
|> ? Nobody uses IP addresses to advertise their services. If
|> your DNS is down, *everything* stops working properly.

But it can take a minimum of time to bring everything back whilst if you
loose hosting or connection it can often takes weeks or months.

|> > Alternative DNS and domains/hostnames can be quickly set up but if
you
|> > loose your data and/or connection, then things become very serious
and
|> > a site may not be restored quickly.  There are a number of third
level
|>
|> The point behind a domain name is that it's easier for
|> people to use than numbers.

Some names are easier than others.  There are all sorts of
considerations.

|> One of the points behind registering your own domain name
|> (rather than use
|> foo.isp.net.au (waves :) :) is that this is supposed to give
|> you some security.

Really, how many registries have complaints about shabby service, domain
hijackings and various other poor performance issues?  How many people
have lost domains through the fact resellers do not provide them with
the correct information.  There are no guarantees unless you make sure
you are on top of everything, not something the regular business person
would do.  One of the reasons they don't usually register domains
directly but use third parties, who often let them down.

|> That is, if isp.net.au goes out of business or stops offering the
service
|> that you want, (waves again :) :) you can move your domain name to a
new
|> hosting provider with very little or no interruption to service. No
customer
|> retraining, no altered advertising, no oddities.

Providing you have control over the domain which is something you will
find a majority of businesses don't have.  They use third parties to
register their domains and don't even get listed in the whois fully a
lot of the time.

|> If the owner of the domain to which you have attached
|> yourself goes out of business it will be *very hard* to
|> maintain your subdomain. e.g. if
|> 'web.id.au' closes down, owners of 'foo.web.id.au' will not
|> be able to
|> continue using foo; thus defeating one of the good reasons
|> for having your own domain name. It's also very expensive
|> (if any significant amount has
|> been invested in the promotion of the now-defunct name).

True, but then a third level registered name is usually not the main
hostname but an extra to provide alternatives as a rule.  It adds
another layer of protection.

|> > domain/hostname registries, I run one myself, they often provide a
|> > better service than the second level registries.  I admit,
|> there is
|> > always the chance a registry will not be professionally
|> run but then,
|> > that applies to the second level registries also, look at how many
|> > TLD's have lame systems.
|>
|> I think that privately-run registries have their place. They
|> offer in general the opportunity to have 'your own' domain
|> name for much lower cost than registering in the TLDs. I
|> don't think that they are given serious consideration by
|> enterprise, for a very good reason: the savings are
|> outweighed by the potential costs.

Misleading really, there are more potential costs involved when
businesses don't fully understand the processes and don't have true
control over the name.  Look at how many names get dropped just because
someone didn't realise the renewal was due and had to be paid within a
certain time.  Knowledge and control are the two main factors necessary
and businesses as a rule don't have either.

Darryl (Dassa) Lynch