RFC 1788 (rfc1788) - Page 2 of 7

ICMP Domain Name Messages

RFC 1788                    ICMP Domain Name                  April 1995


Table of Contents

     1.     Introduction ..........................................    2
        1.1       Direct Query ....................................    3
        1.2       Multicast .......................................    3
        1.3       Domain Names ....................................    3
        1.4       Messages ........................................    4

     2.     Domain Name Request ...................................    4

     3.     Domain Name Reply .....................................    5

     SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS ......................................    6
     REFERENCES ...................................................    6
     ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................    7
     AUTHOR'S ADDRESS .............................................    7

1.  Introduction

   The Domain Name System (DNS) is described in [RFC-1034].  The IN-ADDR
   domain of the DNS is specified [RFC-1035] to perform address to
   domain name resolution, and to facilitate queries to locate all
   gateways (routers) on a particular network in the Internet.

   Neither function has been remarkably successful.  The IN-ADDR domain
   is not reliably populated.

   As multiple routers were used at boundaries and within networks, the
   IN-ADDR mechanism was found to be inadequate.  The location of
   routers by hosts is now performed using "ICMP Router Discovery
   Messages" [RFC-1256].

   As network numbers migrated to "classless" routing and aggregation,
   the IN-ADDR delegation granularity has fragmented, and requires
   overlapping administration.  The "reverse" IN-ADDR administration
   frequently does not follow the same delegation as the "forward"
   domain name tree.  This structure is not amenable to cooperative
   secure updating of the DNS.

   As application servers have appeared which require the Domain Name
   for user interaction and security logging, the IN-ADDR servers have
   been inundated with queries.  This produces long user visible pauses
   at the initiation of sessions.








Simpson