[Chapter-delegates] Draft ISOC comments on WGIG report

[Franck Martin]

Some countries do need a root server, because they have only one link to
the Internet. Until redundancy is feasible, a root server would be
ideal. Unfortunately in practice it does not work that way.

I guess there are some bandwidth and latency savings by having your own
root server nearby.

Cheers

Steve Crocker wrote:

> Patrick,
>
> I'd like to take issue with your comments.  See below.
>
> Steve
>
>
> Steve Crocker
> steve at shinkuro.com
>
>
> On Aug 10, 2005, at 12:30 AM, Patrick Vande Walle wrote:
>
>> On Wed, August 10, 2005 2:14, Franck Martin said:
>>
>>> Steve,
>>>
>>> I guess it predates ICANN, but putting such a statement in the WGIG
>>> report implicates that there can be only 13 root servers and  that's
>>> it.
>>> So many countries cannot have a root server. I find this statement
>>> highly misleading and in defavor of ICANN.
>>>
>>
>> Franck,
>>
>> The statement is technically correct. I think it would be much more
>> positive for ISOC to point out how and when the technical community 
>> will
>> address that weakness.
>
>
> In what way is this a weakness?  The domain name system is designed 
> to provide fast, reliable translation of domain names into IP 
> addresses.  It is designed to do so for all Internet users around the 
> globe and to give the same answers to everyone.  The amount of 
> redundancy needed at each level is fundamentally an engineering 
> question.  The limitation of 13 root servers addresses comes from the 
> interaction of the sizes of packets and the amount of information 
> needed for each address.  From a design point of view, half that 
> number would probably be more than adequate.  With anycast, the 
> actual replication of servers is now around 100 and can be extended 
> considerably further.
>
> Where's the weakness?
>
> (I don't want to suggest the domain name system is perfect.  There 
> are indeed some weaknesses in DNS, but they're not related to this 
> discussion.  DNSSEC addresses some of the weaknesses.)
>
>> There may not be a technical reason to go beyond 13 root servers, but
>> there are plenty of political reasons. The debate here is whether
>> technologists are at the service of the society or if the society 
>> should
>> use what the technologists think is good for them.
>
>
>
> Let me push back very hard on this point.  I agree technology should 
> serve society, but there is an equal requirement in the other 
> direction that "society" choose sensible problems for technologists 
> to solve.  The idea that each country needs its own root server is an 
> entirely artificial and meaningless "requirement."  It has no 
> relationship to providing accurate, reliable, responsive Internet 
> service.  It is being driven solely by political forces for 
> appearances and ego.  I don't know whether such forces will 
> ultimately play a role in determining the architecture of the 
> Internet in the future, but I think we in the Internet Society have 
> an obligation to help the rest of the world understand the difference 
> between real and meaningful issues and those that don't serve any 
> larger socially useful purpose.
>
> Steve


-- 
Franck Martin
ICT Specialist
franck at sopac.org
SOPAC, Fiji
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