DELEG: DNS back to the drawing board
The Domain Name System (DNS) has been around for 42 years and has more than proven itself as a scalable replacement for HOSTS.TXT. However, today's internet is very different from what it was 42 years ago. Internet services (such as DNS) are now largely outsourced to specialized "operators," and the security and privacy of internet users must be better protected against malicious actors.
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has therefore launched the DELEG Working Group, with the goal of reviewing the current DNS design and developing a (backward-compatible) specification that better aligns with operational practices and the requirements of the modern Internet.
This presentation highlights the current shortcomings of DNS, providing historical context to put them into perspective, and gives an overview of the ideas and ongoing work within the DELEG working group. The focus is on addressing these shortcomings by revising the core of DNS: delegation.
Meet our speaker
Willem Toorop
Software Developer and Research Engineer, NLnet Labs
Willem works at NLnet Labs as a software developer and research engineer. NLnet Labs is a nonprofit organization that develops open-source software and open standards for the benefit of the internet. Willem particularly enjoys collaborating with others on new ideas and new standards. For example, during hackathons, he works with developers of other open-source DNS software to coordinate implementations. In addition, Willem occasionally conducts measurements of the state of the internet and DNS to gain a better understanding of where protocols and software can be improved. Willem loves his work and also enjoys talking about it and giving presentations.
In addition to his daily work, Willem is a member of the program committee (PC) of the Dutch Unix Users Group (NLUUG), a PC member at the DNS Operations, Analysis, and Research Center (DNS-OARC), and a member of the Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) Caucus, and representative of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in the Root Zone Evolution Review Committee (RZERC).
