The role of a TLD Registry vs the role of a Registry Operator

In recent years, the activity of TLD registries has become more complex. Reasons for this include:

• much larger number of registrations (in the ten of thousands or millions, depending in the kind of TLD)
• higher expectations regarding security and availability
• an increase in regulation, best practice requirements
• higher diversity of registries, leading to specialized and advanced processing rule.

As a result the technical activity of running a TLD registry has become a specialized activity, distinct from TLD policy-making, outreach, marketing and oversight.

The typical solution is for a TLD registry to outsource the technical operation to a so-called Technical Backend Operator.

CORE's Registry Technical Activities

CORE has supported the launch of three TLDs the .aero (2002), .museum (introduction of a registrar interface in 2003), and .cat (launch in 2006). While the services CORE provides to a given TLD may vary depending on the requirements, the typical responsibilities include:

• registration interface for registrars
• management interface for the registry or sponsoring organization - policy, accreditation
• name registration rules
• statistics (including ICANN-required reporting)
• data deposits with escrow operator
• special processing (sunrise, specialized name spaces)
• issues tracking for charter eligibility, disputes or policy enforcement