.nz

Infobox Top level domain
name=.nz
background=#CCF


introduced=1987
type=Country code top-level domain
status=Active
registry=NZ Registry Services
sponsor=Internet Society of New Zealand
intendeduse=Entities connected with NZL
actualuse=Popular in New Zealand
restrictions=No restrictions under most second-level names; a few are "moderated" meaning that eligibility is checked before registration is granted
structure=Names are registered at third level within generic second-level categories, including one specifically for geeks
document=
disputepolicy= [http://dnc.org.nz/content/dispute_and_complaint.pdf Dispute and Complaint Process]
website= [http://nzrs.net.nz/ NZ Registry Services]
[http://dnc.org.nz/ Domain Name Commission] |

.nz is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for New Zealand. It is administered by InternetNZ through its subsidiary, NZ Registry Services, with oversight and dispute resolution handled by the Domain Name Commission Ltd. Registrations are processed via authorised registrars. As of March 2008 there were 324,722 registered .nz domains.cite web | title=Monthly .nz Statistics March 2008 | publisher=Domain Name Commission| date=2008-04-30| url=http://dnc.org.nz/content/2008-03_stats.html | accessdate=2008-05-08]

History

As with many long-standing domain registries the registry was maintained informally for some time. The first formally recognised administrative organisation was the University of Waikato until the responsibility was delegated to InternetNZ when it was formed in 1995.

Prior to the current structure, the registry operator of .nz was Domainz. Historically, Domainz was a subsidiary of InternetNZ which also operated as a registrar and vendor of other add-on services such as DNS. This combination of a natural monopoly (the registry activities) and vertical integration (the registrar and other services) was seen by some as restricting competitioncite web | date=2000-10-20 | title=Review of the Registry/Registrar Structure for the .nz ccTLD (The Hine Report) | url=http://www.internetnz.net.nz/proceedings/tf/archive/wg-domainz-model-review/dmrwg001020report-final.html | accessdate=2008-05-08] so InternetNZ moved to separate the provision of registry services into a separate organisation with strong oversight. The final part of this transition process was the sale of Domainz to Melbourne IT [cite web | title=Melbourne IT buys NZ domain incumbent | date=2003-08-21 | url=http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Melbourne-IT-buys-NZ-domain-incumbent/0,139023166,120277573,00.htm | accessdate=2008-05-08] in August 2003.

From 2008-04-01 the "Office of the Domain Name Commissioner" (several employees of InternetNZ, including the Domain Name Commissioner herself) became the "Domain Name Commission Limited", a subsidiary company of InternetNZ. [cite web | title=April 2008 .nz Newsletter | date=2008-04-24 | url=http://dnc.org.nz/content//apr_08_newsletter.pdf | accessdate=2008-05-08]

Second-level domains

As is the case with most other English-speaking countries apart from the USA and Canada, there are a number of second-level domains that identify whether the user is a company, a non-commercial organisation, government body or other classification.

Unlike many other English-speaking countries, New Zealand uses 'govt' instead of 'gov' for government bodies, hence 'govt.nz'. There are also sub-level domains unique to New Zealand, such as 'iwi.nz' iwi for traditional Māori tribal groups (as well as 'maori.nz') and 'geek.nz' for 'geeks' .

The following Second level domains are in use with their official descriptions.

Unmoderated

* .ac.nz — Tertiary educational institutions and related organisations
* .co.nz — Organisations pursuing commercial aims and purposes
* .geek.nz — For people who are concentrative, technically skilled and imaginative who are generally adept with computers
* .gen.nz — Individuals and other organisations not covered elsewhere
* .maori.nz — Māori people, groups, and organisations
* .net.nz — Organisations and service providers directly related to the NZ Internet
* .org.nz — Not-for-profit organisations
* .school.nz — Primary, secondary and pre-schools and related organisations

Moderated

* .cri.nz — Crown Research Institutes.
* .govt.nz — National, regional and local government organisations operating with statutory powers. Registration is only available through the government registrar, [http://www.dns.govt.nz DNS.govt.nz] , and there is a government portal at [http://www.govt.nz/ www.govt.nz]
* .iwi.nz — A traditional Māori tribe, hapu, or Taurahere group. Available from [http://www.register.iwi.nz register.iwi.nz] .
* .parliament.nz - Reserved for parliamentary agencies, Offices of Parliament, and parliamentary political parties and their elected members.
* .mil.nz — the military organisation of the NZ Government - the New Zealand Defence Force.

Previously used

The Domain archie.nz also existed for an Archie search engine Server operated by the University of Waikato until the mid 1990s.

Since only some of the domains are moderated, it is possible to register outside of the area intended.

Registry Software and Protocol

The .nz registry uses open source software, which is periodically published on [http://sourceforge.net/projects/dnrs/ SourceForge] . The protocol used by this software has non-repudiation built in to it using PGP, and unlike ".com" there is no concept of "locking" domains - transferring a domain requires only knowledge of a secret which business rules dictate is sent to registrants during registration (and must be re-issued on demand at no cost). This prevents Domain Hijacking. The protocol was contemporary with EPP, and due to these extra design features is now being ratified as an internet RFC [cite web | title=System for Managing a Shared Domain Registry | date=2008-05-18 | url=http://www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-nzrs-srs-00.txt | accessdate=2008-06-13] .

References

External links

* [http://www.iana.org/root-whois/nz.htm IANA .nz whois information]
* [http://nzrs.net.nz/ NZ Registry Services]
* [http://dnc.org.nz/ .nz Domain Name Commission]
* [http://dnc.org.nz/story/30056-27-1.html List of .nz authorised registrars]