DNS related RFCs

This is an annotated list of Requests for Comments (RFCs) that are directly relevant to DNS, the Domain Name System. 114 DNS-related RFC documents are reviewed here. Inter-document dependencies are listed for a further 20 obsolete DNS-related RFC documents, as well as to some RFCs that are not directly related to DNS.

This list is fairly comprehensive up to RFC4000, but currently does not include documents published since 2004.

See also the DNS RFC Dependency Graphs produced by Ray Bellis, which include more recent RFCs.

RFCs are distributed in text format, but where available, a link is provided to HTML versions of these documents. In each instance the text version is the official one; the HTML versions may contain inadvertent mistakes introduced during the conversion process.

RFC 3696 (Informational)
Application Techniques for Checking and Transformation of Names by J. Klensin
Summarises the syntax of valid DNS names, email addresses, and URLs, so that programmers can correctly apply local checking of input. Right now, many applications refuse to accept perfectly valid domain names, email addresses or URLs because of incorrect assumptions about their syntax. Should be read by overzealous coders everywhere, but that's probably a forlorn hope.
Feb-2004, checked 19-Mar-2004
RFC 3675 (Informational)
.sex Considered Dangerous by D. Eastlake 3rd
Every few weeks someone wants to classify Internet content based on domain names. This is a bad idea, and this document explains why. The main technical argument against content labels based on domain names, is that nothing can be said about names where administration of the directory is distributed: it is trivial to create cross-links that either escape the segregation, or that cause harm to innocent bystanders. Instead, labels should be applied using a separate non-DNS rating mechanism. See also RFC 3467.
Feb-2004, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3658 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1035, RFC 2535, RFC 3008 and RFC 3090
Delegation Signer (DS) Resource Record (RR) by O. Gudmundsson
Introduces the DS resource record, a major semantic change to the DNSSEC chain of trust, but one that should reduce the need for communication when keys change.
Dec-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3655 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2535
Redefinition of DNS Authenticated Data (AD) bit by B. Wellington and O. Gudmundsson
A step towards giving the AD bit a DNSSEC meaning, but the option to set it if the data "complies with local policy" means there is no incentive to change existing name servers. I fail to see how this redefinition achieves anything useful.
Nov-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3646 (Proposed Standard)
DNS Configuration options for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6) by R. Droms (editor)
Allows an IPv6 resolver to be configured using DHCPv6, by setting the list of recursive name servers and the domain search list.
Dec-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3645 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2845
Generic Security Service Algorithm for Secret Key Transaction Authentication for DNS (GSS-TSIG) by S. Kwan, P. Garg, J. Gilroy, L. Esibov, J. Westhead and R. Hall
Defines a GSS compliant algorithm for TSIG. Five of the six authors were affiliated with Microsoft when this was published.
Oct-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3597 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2163 and RFC 2535
Handling of Unknown DNS Resource Record (RR) Types by A. Gustafsson
Mandates that DNS servers should accept, store and return unknown records of unknown type as is. Long overdue, but increases the complexity of implementating DNSSEC and dynamic updates.
Sep-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3596 (Draft Standard) obsoletes RFC 1886 and RFC 3152
DNS Extensions to Support IP Version 6 by S. Thomson, C. Huitema, V. Ksinant and M. Souissi
Defines the AAAA record type and domain IP6.ARPA, and specifies that AAAA records must also be processed where previously only A records were.
Oct-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3492 (Proposed Standard)
Punycode: A Bootstring encoding of Unicode for Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA) by A. Costello
A (relatively) simple mapping of Unicode domain names into DNS hostnames.
Mar-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3491 (Proposed Standard)
Nameprep: A Stringprep Profile for Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) by P. Hoffman and M. Blanchet
A somewhat complex method for mapping Unicode domain names into DNS hostnames.
Mar-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3490 (Proposed Standard)
Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications (IDNA) by P. Faltstrom, P. Hoffman and A. Costello
Overall framework for mapping Unicode domain names into DNS hostnames. See also a critique.
Mar-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3467 (Informational)
Role of the Domain Name System (DNS) by J. Klensin
Describes the original motivation for DNS. Argues that it is not appropriate to shoehorn new applications into the DNS simply because the DNS infrastructure is widely deployed. Suggests that many applications, such as IDN, do not fit in with the design principles of DNS, and should be done outside of DNS. See also RFC 2825.
Feb-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3445 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2535
Limiting the Scope of the KEY Resource Record (RR) by D. Massey and S. Rose
Limits the use of KEY records to DNSSEC. Removes support for storing arbitrary application keys in KEY records (previously these were allowed).
Dec-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3425 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1035
Obsoleting IQUERY by D. Lawrence
Declares the IQUERY query type obsolete, since reverse DNS using PTR records achieves the same aims with much better behaviour.
Nov-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3405 (BCP 65)
Dynamic Delegation Discovery System (DDDS) Part Five: URI.ARPA Assignment Procedures by M. Mealling
Policies and procedures for URI.ARPA and URN.ARPA, as used by RFC 3404.
Oct-2002, checked 06-Mar-2004
RFC 3404 (Proposed Standard) obsoletes RFC 2915 and RFC 2168
Dynamic Delegation Discovery System (DDDS) Part Four: The Uniform Resource Identifiers (URI) Resolution Application by M. Mealling
Application of DDDS, using NAPTR records to transform URNs and URIs. Looks like an attempt to rescue the URI/URN endeavour, but I think there are too many new layers of indirection here for this to succeed.
Oct-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3403 (Proposed Standard) obsoletes RFC 2915 and RFC 2168
Dynamic Delegation Discovery System (DDDS) Part Three: The Domain Name System (DNS) Database by M. Mealling
Defines the NAPTR (Naming Authority Pointer) record type, which stores DDDS rules in the DNS database. Very general, but I think this is an instance where RFC 3467 applies.
Oct-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3402 (Proposed Standard) obsoletes RFC 2915 and RFC 2168
Dynamic Delegation Discovery System (DDDS) Part Two: The Algorithm by M. Mealling
Details of how DDDS transforms its input string, by applying rules fetched from a dynamic database. A nice generalisation of the DNS lookup algorithm, which can be viewed as a transformation of a domain name into the contents of the associated resource records via delegation rules stored in DNS servers. The level of abstraction is maybe too high to catch on with protocol designers.
Oct-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3401 (Informational) updates RFC 2276; obsoletes RFC 2915 and RFC 2168
Dynamic Delegation Discovery System (DDDS) Part One: The Comprehensive DDDS by M. Mealling
Overview of the documents comprising DDDS, which is an abstract method to transform strings using rules stored in a dynamic database.
Oct-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3368 (Proposed Standard)
The 'go' URI Scheme for the Common Name Resolution Protocol by M. Mealling
This seems to be the main purpose of CNRP: a keyword directory service, so that browsers can perform queries of the form go:Some%20Company%20Name and similar. The LDAP folks keep on trying to create a new protocol for the directory service role that the DNS has been shoehorned into; see also RFC 2517. DNS isn't a good general directory service, but I don't see it being bad enough that alternatives have enough room to become established.
Aug-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3367 (Proposed Standard)
Common Name Resolution Protocol (CNRP) by N. Popp, M. Mealling and M. Moseley
CNRP seems to consist of the useful bits of LDAP expressed in XML syntax; see also RFC 2168.
Aug-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3364 (Informational) updates RFC 2673 and RFC 2874
Tradeoffs in Domain Name System (DNS) Support for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) by R. Austein
A critical comparison of AAAA (RFC 1886) versus A6 (RFC 2874) records for IPv6. See also RFC 3363.
Aug-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3363 (Informational) updates RFC 2673 and RFC 2874
Representing Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Addresses in the Domain Name System (DNS) edited by R. Bush, A. Durand, B. Fink, O. Gudmundsson and T. Hain
Demotes RFC 2673 and RFC 2874 to Experimental status, as A6 records and binary labels for IPv6 addresses are no longer regarded as important. See also RFC 3364.
Aug-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3352 (Informational) obsoletes RFC 1798
Connection-less Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (CLDAP) to Historic Status by K. Zeilenga
The original attempt by LDAP to take over DNS failed, as detailed here.
Mar-2003, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3263 (Proposed Standard) obsoletes RFC 2543
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP): Locating SIP Servers by J. Rosenberg and H. Schulzrinne
Details of how SIP uses NAPTR and SRV records to locate SIP servers.
Jun-2002, checked 12-Mar-2004
RFC 3258 (Informational)
Distributing Authoritative Name Servers via Shared Unicast Addresses by T. Hardie
How to use a single IP address for several name servers, using routing tricks. In fairly common use at large ISPs around the world. I think this deserves the status of a BCP.
Apr-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3254 (Informational)
Definitions for talking about directories by H. Alvestrand
Defines terms and a framework for classifying different types of directory services, and explains how several existing directories (such as DNS, the BGP routing information database, and SNMP MIBs), fit into this model.
Apr-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3245 (Informational)
The History and Context of Telephone Number Mapping (ENUM) Operational Decisions: Informational Documents Contributed to ITU-T Study Group 2 (SG2) by J. Klensin
Design decisions behind the ENUM mapping of E.164 telephone numbers into the DNS. See also RFC 2916.
Mar-2002, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3226 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2535 and RFC 2874
DNSSEC and IPv6 A6 aware server/resolver message size requirements by O. Gudmundsson
Requires support for EDNS0 extensions for DNSSEC compliance, and also if A6 records are used (but see RFC 3363).
Dec-2001, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3225 (Proposed Standard)
Indicating Resolver Support of DNSSEC by D. Conrad
Proposes using a bit in the extended EDNS0 header for resolvers to explicitly indicate that they support DNSSEC.
Dec-2001, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3197 (Informational)
Applicability Statement for DNS MIB Extensions by R. Austein
Explains why the SNMP interface to DNS servers and resolvers was never implemented, and retires RFC 1611 and RFC 1612.
Nov-2001, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3152 (BCP 49) updates RFC 1886 and RFC 2874; obsoleted by RFC 3596; also updates non-DNS related RFC 2553, RFC 2766 and RFC 2772
Aug-2001, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3123 (Experimental)
A DNS RR Type for Lists of Address Prefixes (APL RR) by P. Koch
Defines record type APL, for lists of IP ranges in prefix/length notation. Could be useful when specifying access control lists, but not yet widely used.
Jun-2001, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3110 (Proposed Standard) obsoletes RFC 2537
RSA/SHA-1 SIGs and RSA KEYs in the Domain Name System (DNS) by D. Eastlake 3rd
Formats for RSA/SHA-1 SIG and RSA KEY records. The main change from RFC 2537 is replacement of MD5 with SHA-1 hashes.
May-2001, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3090 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2535; updated by RFC 3658
DNS Security Extension Clarification on Zone Status by E. Lewis
Clarifies what it means for a zone to be secured, in the context of DNSSEC.
Mar-2001, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3071 (Informational)
Reflections on the DNS, RFC 1591, and Categories of Domains by J. Klensin
A lament for the loss of sanity in DNS delegation close to the root of the IN namespace. Appears to be mostly aimed at ICANN and their often inexplicable treatment of TLDs. See also RFC 1591.
Feb-2001, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3008 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2535; updated by RFC 3658
Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) Signing Authority by B. Wellington
Requires zone data in a secure zone to be signed by the zone key, and restricts how SIG records can be applied by a secure resolver.
Nov-2000, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 3007 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2136 and RFC 2535; obsoletes RFC 2137
Secure Domain Name System (DNS) Dynamic Update by B. Wellington
Changes how secure dynamic updates should be performed in the DNSSEC framework.
Nov-2000, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2972 (Informational)
Context and Goals for Common Name Resolution by N. Popp, M. Mealling, L. Masinter and K. Sollins
The philosophy of CNRP: seems sound, but I have reservations about practical adoption of the protocol. See also RFC 3367.
Oct-2000, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2937 (Proposed Standard)
The Name Service Search Option for DHCP by C. Smith
An option for DHCP to specify the resolver name service search order. Similar to the way nsswitch.conf works to specify the order in which local host files, NIS, DNS, etc. are consulted.
Sep-2000, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2931 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2535
DNS Request and Transaction Signatures ( SIG(0)s) by D. Eastlake 3rd
Tweaks the extended SIG(0) record type used in DNSSEC.
Sep-2000, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2930 (Proposed Standard)
Secret Key Establishment for DNS (TKEY RR) by D. Eastlake 3rd
A way of distributing keys for TSIG records.
Sep-2000, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2929 (BCP 42)
Domain Name System (DNS) IANA Considerations by D. Eastlake 3rd, E. Brunner-Williams and B. Manning
Defines which codes, flags and classes have been allocated, and how IANA will allocate new numbers. See also IANA official numbers.
Sep-2000, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2916 (Proposed Standard)
E.164 number and DNS by P. Faltstrom
Specifies a mapping of E.164 telephone numbers into URIs using NAPTR records and domain names in the .E164.ARPA domain, similar to the way PTR records are used in .IN-ADDR.ARPA. Not widely used, and will likely be obsoleted by the Internet-Draft draft-ietf-enum-rfc2916bis. See also RFC 3245.
Sep-2000, checked 06-Mar-2004
RFC 2915 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 2168; obsoleted by RFC 3401, RFC 3402, RFC 3403 and RFC 3404
Sep-2000
RFC 2874 (Experimental) updated by RFC 3152, RFC 3226, RFC 3363 and RFC 3364
DNS Extensions to Support IPv6 Address Aggregation and Renumbering by M. Crawford and C. Huitema
Introduces A6 records and the IP6.ARPA domain. See also RFC 3363.
Jul-2000
RFC 2870 (BCP 40) obsoletes RFC 2010
Root Name Server Operational Requirements by R. Bush, D. Karrenberg, M. Kosters and R. Plzak
How to run a root name server. Elicited some acrimonious debate on the dnsop mailing list during drafting.
Jun-2000
RFC 2845 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1035; updated by RFC 3645
Secret Key Transaction Authentication for DNS (TSIG) by P. Vixie, O. Gudmundsson, D. Eastlake 3rd and B. Wellington
Hashing protocol for authenticating DNS data, assuming that the endpoints share secret keys. These secret keys need to be distributed using some other mechanism, for instance RFC 3645 or RFC 2930.
May-2000, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2832 (Informational)
NSI Registry Registrar Protocol (RRP) Version 1.1.0 by S. Hollenbeck and M. Srivastava
Protocol for sharing domain registration information between registries and registrars.
May-2000
RFC 2826 (Informational)
IAB Technical Comment on the Unique DNS Root by Internet Architecture Board
Reiterates that DNS is built on the technical assumption that each namespace has a unique root. Unfortunately, I don't think this argument is persuasive enough to deter the anti-ICANN brigade.
May-2000
RFC 2825 (Informational)
A Tangled Web: Issues of I18N, Domain Names, and the Other Internet protocols by Internet Architecture Board (L. Daigle, Editor)
A warning that internationalized domain names have many pitfalls. See also RFC 3467.
May-2000
RFC 2782 (Proposed Standard) obsoletes RFC 2052; updates RFC 1035
A DNS RR for specifying the location of services (DNS SRV) by A. Gulbrandsen, P. Vixie and L. Esibov
Introduced generalised SRV records for indirection, similar to MX records, for services other than mail. Also changed the SRV namespace to use leading underscore characters: "_TCP.example" instead of "TCP.example".
Feb-2000
RFC 2694 (Informational)
DNS extensions to Network Address Translators (DNS_ALG) by P. Srisuresh, G. Tsirtsis, P. Akkiraju and A. Heffernan
Proposes an application level gateway for DNS which modifies DNS payload to alter address mapping of hosts. This progressed without input from the DNSEXT community, so it is not interoperable with protocols such as DNSSEC. Widespread deployment of this protocol would probably cause a bunch of problems.
Sep-1999
RFC 2673 (Experimental) updated by RFC 3363 and RFC 3364
Binary Labels in the Domain Name System by M. Crawford
Defines a Bit-String label, which represents a sequence of single bit labels for storing records at any bit-boundary in the name tree. See also RFC 3363.
Aug-1999
RFC 2672 (Proposed Standard)
Non-Terminal DNS Name Redirection by M. Crawford
Defines DNAME record, which maps a subtree of the DNS to another domain: like a more general form of CNAME.
Aug-1999
RFC 2671 (Proposed Standard)
Extension mechanisms for DNS (EDNS0) by P. Vixie
Backward compatible mechanisms for growing the DNS protocol, to avoid exhaustion of the limited fixed fields. Note that this standard requires that implementations of newer features must also support all features of older versions. After extended discussion, a proposal for extensions based on this mechanism was never published. Overall, EDNS0 is not being widely used.
Aug-1999
RFC 2606 (BCP 32)
Reserved Top Level DNS Names by D. Eastlake 3rd and A. Panitz
Reserves new top-level and second-level domain names for testing and documentation: .EXAMPLE, .INVALID, .TEST, .LOCALHOST and EXAMPLE.{COM,NET,ORG}.
Jun-1999
RFC 2541 (Informational)
DNS Security Operational Considerations by D. Eastlake 3rd
Recommendations on how to manage DNSSEC extensions, regarding the operational aspects of key and signature generation, lifetime, size, and storage, as well as the security of the zones close to the root.
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1999
RFC 2540 (Experimental)
Detached Domain Name System (DNS) Information by D. Eastlake 3rd
Format for archival and offline storage of DNS information. Not widely used, since various packet capture formats seem to do the same job, eg. libpcap.
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1999, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2539 (Proposed Standard)
Storage of Diffie-Hellman Keys in the Domain Name System (DNS) by D. Eastlake 3rd
KEY records for storing Diffie-Hellman keys.
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1999
RFC 2538 (Proposed Standard)
Storing Certificates in the Domain Name System (DNS) by D. Eastlake 3rd and O. Gudmundsson
CERT records for storing certificates and related certificate revocation lists.
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1999
RFC 2537 (Proposed Standard) obsoleted by RFC 3110
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1999
RFC 2536 (Proposed Standard)
DSA KEYs and SIGs in the Domain Name System (DNS) by D. Eastlake 3rd
Storing US Government Digital Signature Algorithm keys and signatures using KEY and SIG resource records.
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1999
RFC 2535 (Proposed Standard) obsoletes RFC 2065; updates RFC 1034, RFC 1035 and RFC 2181; updated by RFC 2931, RFC 3007, RFC 3008, RFC 3090, RFC 3226, RFC 3445, RFC 3597, RFC 3655 and RFC 3658
Domain Name System Security Extensions by D. Eastlake 3rd
Updated digital signatures for data integrity and authentication in the DNS, incorporating implementation feedback. Digital signatures are included in secured zones as resource records.
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1999, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2517 (Informational)
Building Directories from DNS: Experiences from WWWSeeker by R. Moats and R. Huber
Implementation experience from WWWSeeker and Netfind, for those considering a keyword-like directory to discover domain names.
An HTML version is available.
Feb-1999
RFC 2377 (Informational)
Naming Plan for Internet Directory-Enabled Applications by A. Grimstad, R. Huber, S. Sataluri and M. Wahl
Part 2 of the attempted LDAP takeover of DNS. A sensible naming scheme for LDAP directories, based on the top parts of the DNS name space. See also RFC 2247.
An HTML version is available.
Sep-1998
RFC 2352 (Informational) obsoletes RFC 2240
A Convention For Using Legal Names as Domain Names by O. Vaughan
Proposes creation of uniform second-level domain names for commercial organisations, within the country-specific TLD's. As the editor's preface points out, this document (and the earlier version it replaces) are pretty pointless due to constraints of the real world (as opposed to the fantasy world this document appears to be describing).
May-1998
RFC 2345 (Experimental)
Domain Names and Company Name Retrieval by J. Klensin, T. Wolf and G. Oglesby
Proposes adding extra WHOIS lookup step to browsers to retrieve URLs instead of relying on intuitive domain names. Similar to the keyword feature added by Netscape and Microsoft to their browsers in mid-1998.
May-1998
RFC 2317 (BCP 20)
Classless IN-ADDR.ARPA delegation by H. Eidnes, G. de Groot and P. Vixie
How to do IN-ADDR.ARPA delegations on arbitrary boundaries, in a way compatible with existing software, by using CNAME records and new zones.
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1998
RFC 2308 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035
Negative Caching of DNS Queries (DNS NCACHE) by M. Andrews
Recommends that negative caching (the caching of information about non-existence of resource records) becomes mandatory in resolvers. Also redefines the usage of the TTL field in SOA records to be used for negative caching, and adds a $TTL directive to replace its former use.
An HTML version is available.
Mar-1998
RFC 2307 (Experimental)
An Approach for Using LDAP as a Network Information Service by L. Howard
Mapping NIS-type information into LDAP: aliases, users, protocols, etc. Not strictly relevant to DNS.
Mar-1998
RFC 2276 (Informational) updated by RFC 3401
Architectural Principles of Uniform Resource Name Resolution by K. Sollins
URNs are meant to be persistent, globally unique identifiers for internet documents, like ISBNs for books or UPCs for products for sale. This defines the theoretical architecture of mapping URNs to URLs. Still largely a pipe-dream, after all these years.
Jan-1998
RFC 2247 (Proposed Standard)
Using Domains in LDAP/X.500 Distinguished Names by S. Kille, M. Wahl, A. Grimstad, R. Huber and S. Sataluri
Representing domain names as distinguished names (using a new X.500 attribute called DC) so that LDAP can contain DNS information. See also RFC 2377.
An HTML version is available.
Jan-1998
RFC 2240 (Informational) obsoleted by RFC 2352
Nov-1997
RFC 2230 (Informational)
Key Exchange Delegation Record for the DNS by R. Atkinson
KX records for IP security, assuming Secure DNS. KX defines a host willing to act as a key exchanger for a given domain name.
An HTML version is available.
Nov-1997
RFC 2219 (BCP 17)
Use of DNS Aliases for Network Services by M. Hamilton and R. Wright
The IANA name for a protocol should be used as the domain name for the machine that supports that protocol at a site.
An HTML version is available.
Oct-1997
RFC 2182 (BCP 16)
Selection and Operation of Secondary DNS Servers by R. Elz, R. Bush, S. Bradner and M. Patton
How to select secondary (slave) servers.
An HTML version is available.
Jul-1997
RFC 2181 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1034, RFC 1035 and RFC 1123; updated by RFC 2535
Clarifications to the DNS Specification by R. Elz and R. Bush
Clarifications regarding multi-homed servers, TTLs, zone cuts, SOA records, the TC (truncated) flag, authoritative/canonical names, and valid labels.
An HTML version is available.
Jul-1997
RFC 2168 (Experimental) updated by RFC 2915; obsoleted by RFC 3401, RFC 3402, RFC 3403 and RFC 3404
Jun-1997
RFC 2163 (Proposed Standard) obsoletes RFC 1664; updated by RFC 3597
Using the Internet DNS to Distribute MIXER Conformant Global Address Mapping (MCGAM) by C. Allocchio
Update to RFC 1664, on storing information in the DNS for mapping between X.400 and RFC 822 email addressing. Defines new PX record and .X42D.xx second-level domain names for each country-specific TLD xx.
Jan-1998
RFC 2146 (Informational) obsoletes RFC 1816
U.S. Government Internet Domain Names by Federal Networking Council
Registration procedures in the .GOV top-level domain, and first steps in its migration to .FED.US.
May-1997
RFC 2142 (Proposed Standard)
Mailbox Names for Common Services, Roles and Functions by D. Crocker
Mandates addresses such as ABUSE@domain for complaints to ISPs, HOSTMASTER@domain as a standard contact for DNS issues, and LIST-REQUEST@domain for all mailing lists.
An HTML version is available.
May-1997
RFC 2137 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1035; obsoleted by RFC 3007
An HTML version is available.
Apr-1997, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2136 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1035; updated by RFC 3007
Dynamic Updates in the Domain Name System (DNS UPDATE) by P. Vixie (editor), S. Thomson, Y. Rekhter and J. Bound
Atomic record-level addition and deletion of DNS information: WINS done properly.
An HTML version is available.
Apr-1997
RFC 2100 (Informational)
The Naming of Hosts by J. Ashworth
A fun pastiche of T. S. Eliot's poem "The Naming of Cats", but also makes some cogent points about choice of hostnames. See also RFC 1178 for a more serious treatment.
01-Apr-1997, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 2065 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035; obsoleted by RFC 2535
An HTML version is available.
Jan-1997
RFC 2053 (Informational)
The AM (Armenia) Domain by E. Der-Danieliantz
Procedures for registering in the AM TLD.
Oct-1996
RFC 2052 (Experimental) updates RFC 1035 and RFC 1183; obsoleted by RFC 2782
Oct-1996
RFC 2010 (Informational)
An HTML version is available.
Oct-1996
RFC 1996 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1035
Notify: a mechanism for prompt notification of authority zone changes by P. Vixie
Describes NOTIFY opcode for advising slave servers that the master's data has been changed.
An HTML version is available.
Aug-1996
RFC 1995 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1035
Incremental Zone Transfer in DNS by M. Ohta
A mechanism for use with NOTIFY which allows transferring only that part of the zone that changed.
An HTML version is available.
Aug-1996
RFC 1982 (Proposed Standard) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035
Serial Number Arithmetic by R. Elz and R. Bush
Defines how serial numbers are compared to determine if a zone has been updated.
An HTML version is available.
Aug-1996
RFC 1956 (Informational)
Registration in the MIL Domain by D. Engebretson and R. Plzak
Describes the registration policy of the US Department of Defense domain.
Jun-1996
RFC 1912 (Informational) obsoletes RFC 1537
Common DNS Operational and Configuration Errors by D. Barr
Errors and common practice in operation of servers and format of data.
An HTML version is available.
Feb-1996
RFC 1886 updated by RFC 3152; obsoleted by RFC 3596
Dec-1995
RFC 1876 (Experimental) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035; obsoletes RFC 1712
A Means for Expressing Location Information in the Domain Name System by C. Davis, P. Vixie, T. Goodwin and I. Dickinson
Geographical location LOC records.
Jan-1996
RFC 1816 (Informational) obsoletes RFC 1811, obsoleted by RFC 2146
Aug-1995
RFC 1811 (Informational) obsoleted by RFC 1816
Jun-1995
RFC 1794 (Informational)
DNS Support for Load Balancing by T. Brisco
DNS support for balancing loads of many types.
Apr-1995
RFC 1713 (Informational: FYI 27)
Tools for DNS debugging by A. Romao
Overview of some DNS tools. Now severely out of date; an IETF effort is underway to update it.
An HTML version is available.
Nov-1994
RFC 1712 (Experimental) obsoleted by RFC 1876
DNS Encoding of Geographical Location by C. Farrell, M. Schulze, S. Pleitner and D. Baldoni
Paul Vixie wrote: `deprecated and retracted by its authors but the RFC editors accidentally published it anyway'.
Nov-1994
RFC 1706 (Informational) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035; obsoletes RFC 1348 and RFC 1637
DNS NSAP Resource Records by B. Manning and R. Colella
How to add OSI-style NSAPs to the DNS using PTR records.
Oct-1994
RFC 1664 (Experimental) obsoleted by RFC 2163
Aug-1994
RFC 1637 (Experimental) obsoletes RFC 1348; obsoleted by RFC 1706
Jun-1994
RFC 1612 (Historic)
DNS Resolver MIB Extensions by R. Austein and J. Saperia
Interfacing SNMP to the client side of DNS, waiting to be implemented. See also RFC 3197.
May-1994
RFC 1611 (Historic)
DNS Server MIB Extensions by R. Austein and J. Saperia
Interfacing SNMP to the server side of DNS, waiting to be implemented. See also RFC 3197.
May-1994
RFC 1591 (Informational)
Domain Name System Structure and Delegation by J. Postel
Administrative and management details about the DNS name space. See also RFC 3071.
Mar-1994, checked 27-Feb-2004
RFC 1537 (Informational) obsoleted by RFC 1912
Oct-1993
RFC 1536 (Informational)
Common DNS Implementation Errors and Suggested Fixes by A. Kumar, J. Postel, C. Neuman, P. Danzig and S. Miller
What to fix and how to fix it, for developers.
Oct-1993
RFC 1535 (Informational)
A Security Problem and Proposed Correction With Widely Deployed DNS Software by E. Gavron
Highlights subversion possibilities with default resolver search lists. In general, resolver search lists should never add domain names to a basic search string unless the domains are managed by a trusted party. This means that commonly used search string members such as .COM are dangerous and should not be used. Six years later, several large software companies still haven't understood this.
Oct-1993
RFC 1480 (Informational) obsoletes RFC 1386
The US Domain by A. Cooper and J. Postel
Policies and procedures related to the .US top-level domain.
Jun-1993
RFC 1464 (Experimental)
Using the Domain Name System To Store Arbitrary String Attributes by R. Rosenbaum
Using TXT records to store arbitrary strings in the DNS.
May-1993
RFC 1386 (Informational) obsoleted by RFC 1480
Jun-1993
RFC 1348 (Experimental) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035; obsoleted by RFC 1706
Jul-1992
RFC 1183 (Experimental) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035; updated by RFC 2052
New DNS RR Definitions by C. Everhart, L. Mamakos and R. Ullmann and edited by P. Mockapetris
New resource records, not widely used.
Oct-1990
RFC 1178 (Informational: FYI 5)
Choosing a Name for Your Computer by D. Libes
Good advice to keep in mind when naming computers, especially as to what names to avoid. See also RFC 2100 for a less serious treatment.
Aug-1990
RFC 1123 (Standard: STD 3) updated by RFC 2181
Requirements for Internet Hosts -- Application and Support edited by R. Braden
Includes chapter 6, about DNS.
Oct-1989
RFC 1122 (Standard: STD 3) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035
Requirements for Internet Hosts -- Communication Layers edited by R. Braden
Section 4 discusses UDP and TCP issues that have important low-level effects on DNS.
Oct-1989
RFC 1101 (Unknown, Proposed Standard?) updates RFC 1034 and RFC 1035
DNS Encoding of Network Names and Other Types by P. Mockapetris
Storage of network names and netmasks in the reverse tree, using PTR and A records. Unfortunately, this scheme only works for classful networks, and is therefore a historical curiosity. Instead, see RFC 2317 for classless networks.
Apr-1989
RFC 1035 (Standard: STD 13) updated by RFCs 1101, 1122, 1183, 1706, 1876, 1982, 1995, 1996, 2136, 2137, 2181, 2308, 2535, 2782, 2845, 3425 and RFC 3658; obsoletes RFCs 882, 883 and 973
Domain Names--Implementation and Specification by P. Mockapetris
Mechanics of the DNS. An HTML version with graphic illustrations is available (thanks to Russ Nelson).
A local copy is also available.
Nov-1987
RFC 1034 (Standard: STD 13) updated by RFCs 1101, 1122, 1183, 1706, 1876, 1982, 2181, 2308 and 2535; obsoletes RFCs 882, 883 and 973
Domain Names--Concepts and Facilities by P. Mockapetris
Reference guide, covers just about everything.
Nov-1987
RFC 1033 updated by RFC 1912
Domain Administrators Operations Guide by M. Lottor
How-to guide, now somewhat out of date.
Nov-1987
RFC 1032
Domain Administrator's Guide by M. Stahl
Explains role of domain administrator.
Nov-1987
RFC 974 (Standard: STD 14)
Mail Routing and the Domain System by Craig Partridge
Describes MX record processing.
Jan-1986
RFC 973 updates RFC 882 and RFC 883; obsoleted by RFC 1034 and RFC 1035
Jan-1986
RFC 921 updates RFC 897 and RFC 881
Domain name system implementation schedule - revised by J. Postel
Documents the 1983-4 plan to switch over to DNS.
Oct-1984
RFC 920
Domain Requirements by J. Postel and J. Reynolds
Administrative document about domains. Will become historical shortly.
Oct-1984
RFC 897 updates RFC 881; updated by RFC 921
Domain name system implementation schedule by J. Postel
Documents the 1983-4 plan to switch over to DNS.
Feb-1984
RFC 883 updated by RFC 973; obsoleted by RFC 1034 and RFC 1035
Nov-1983
RFC 882 updated by RFC 973; obsoleted by RFC 1034 and RFC 1035
Nov-1983
RFC 881 updated by RFC 897 and RFC 921
The Domain Names Plan and Schedule by J. Postel
Documents the 1983-4 plan to switch over to DNS.
Nov-1983
RFC 819
The Domain Naming Convention for Internet User Applications by Z. Su and J. Postel
Documents the original structural ideas of DNS.
Aug-1982
RFC 811
Hostnames Server by K. Harrenstien, V. White and E. Feinler
The original centralised hostname lookup server.
Mar-1982
RFC 805
Computer Mail Meeting Notes by J. Postel
The decision to introduce DNS-type names for mail addressing.
Feb-1982

The following DNS-related RFCs have not yet been reviewed. Please let me know of any omissions.

RFC 3757 (Proposed Standard)
Domain Name System KEY (DNSKEY) Resource Record (RR) Secure Entry Point (SEP) Flag
RFC 3755 (Proposed Standard)
Legacy Resolver Compatibility for Delegation Signer (DS)
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Copyright 1994-2010 by András Salamon <andras@dns.net>

Last updated 21-Jun-2010