RFC 2167 (rfc2167) - Page 2 of 69

Referral Whois (RWhois) Protocol V1

RFC 2167                    RWhois Protocol                    June 1997


   The original Whois function was to be a central directory of
   resources and people on ARPANET. However, it could not adequately
   meet the needs of the expanded Internet. RWhois extends and enhances
   the Whois concept in a hierarchical and scaleable fashion. In
   accordance with this, RWhois focuses primarily on the distribution of
   "network objects", or the data representing Internet resources or
   people, and uses the inherently hierarchical nature of these network
   objects (domain names, Internet Protocol (IP) networks, email
   addresses) to more accurately discover the requested information.

   RWhois synthesizes concepts from other, established Internet
   protocols. The RWhois protocol and architecture derive a great deal
   of structure from the Domain Name System (DNS) [RFC 1034] and borrow
   directory service concepts from other directory service efforts,
   primarily [X.500]. The protocol is also influenced by earlier
   established Internet protocols, such as the Simple Mail Transport
   Protocol (SMTP) [RFC 821].

   This RWhois specification defines both a directory access protocol
   and a directory architecture. The directory access protocol
   specifically describes the syntax of the client/server interaction.
   It describes how an RWhois client can search for data on an RWhois
   server, or how the client can modify data on the server. It also
   describes how the server is to interpret input from the client, and
   how the client should interpret the results returned by the server.
   The architecture portion of this document describes the conceptual
   framework behind the RWhois protocol. It details the concepts upon
   which the protocol is based and describes its structural elements.
   The protocol implements the architecture.

   This document uses language like SHOULD and SHALL that have special
   meaning as specified in "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
   Requirement Levels". [RFC 2119]


















Williamson, et. al.          Informational