Study on Root Zone Management

30 March 2021

ICANN org is conducting a study of how the root zone is administered, to “investigate whether there is a need to increase (and if so, how) the robustness of the operational arrangements for making changes to the Root Zone content to reduce or eliminate single points of failure”. The study is being conducted by JAS Advisors.

As part of the study, the JAS team will be contacting TLD operators and asking that they complete brief surveys to provide input into the study. As IANA Root Zone Management customers, TLD operators are able to provide a unique and independent perspective that will add significant value to his study. We encourage TLD operators to participate in this study.

This study is being conducted as part of the work associated with the IANA stewardship transition. Historically the U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) played an active role in the coordination and management of the DNS. After a nearly two-decades long process that culminated on 1 October 2016, the DoC’s role was transitioned to the multistakeholder community organized within ICANN. The transition proposal included an additional recommendation to conduct a formal study to examine the operational procedures governing changes to the root zone after DoC’s involvement ceased.