25 Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP)

Prototypical answer:

Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP)
The .SCB registry implementation will feature a “thick” model as typified by the
rich object store managed by the centralized registry. EPP is the Extensible
Provisioning Protocol. EPP is an application layer client-server protocol for
provisioning and management of objects stored in a shared registration system.
Specified in XML, the protocol defines generic object management operations and
an extensible framework that maps protocol operations to objects. EPP has
become established as the common protocol by which domain registrars can
manage domain names, name-servers and contact details held by domain
registries. It is widely deployed in the gTLD and ccTLD registry space. The EPP
server will be developed by outsourced registry operator with experience in
development and operation of Registry and Registrar operation. The EPP service is
based on the Apache EPP server. It complies with version 1.0 of the EPP
specification, as defined in RFCs 5730, 5731, 5732, 5733, 5734 and 5910. Registry
Operator will provide and update the relevant documentation of all the EPP
Objects and Extensions supported to ICANN prior to deployment. The EPP objects
that will be used for the registry are domains, contacts and hosts. The registry will
provide object query and object transform command sets to support the Registry
Service.

Object Query Commands
EPP provides three commands to retrieve object information: 〈info〉 to retrieve
detailed information associated with a known object, 〈check〉 to determine if an
object is known to the server, and 〈transfer〉 to retrieve known object transfer
status information.

These are described below.

Info
The EPP 〈info〉 command is used to retrieve information associated with a known
object. The elements needed to identify an object and the type of information
associated with an object are both object-specific, so the child elements of the
〈info〉 command are specified using the EPP extension framework.

Check
The EPP 〈check〉 command is used to determine if an object is known to the
server. The elements needed to identify an object are object-specific, so the child
elements of the 〈check〉 command are specified using the EPP extension
framework.

Transfer (Query)
The EPP 〈transfer〉 command provides a query operation that allows a client to
determine real-time status of pending and completed transfer requests. The
elements needed to identify an object that is the subject of a transfer request are
object-specific, so the child elements of the 〈transfer〉 query command are
specified using the EPP extension framework.

Object Transform Commands
EPP provides five commands to transform objects: 〈create〉 to create an instance
of an object with a server, 〈delete〉 to remove an instance of an object from a
server, 〈renew〉 to extend the validity period of an object, 〈update〉 to change
information associated with an object, and 〈transfer〉 to manage changes in
client sponsorship of a known object.

These are described below.

Create
The EPP 〈create〉 command is used to create an instance of an object. An object
may be created for an indefinite period of time, or an object may be created for a
specific validity period. The EPP mapping for an object MUST describe the status of
an object with respect to time, to include expected client and server behavior if a
validity period is used.

Delete
The EPP 〈delete〉 command is used to remove an instance of a known object. The
elements needed to identify an object are object-specific, so the child elements of
the 〈delete〉 command are specified using the EPP extension framework.

Renew
The EPP 〈renew〉 command is used to extend the validity period of an object. The
elements needed to identify and extend the validity period of an object are object specific,
so the child elements of the 〈renew〉 command are specified using the
EPP extension framework.

Transfer
The EPP 〈transfer〉 command is used to manage changes in client sponsorship of
a known object. Clients may initiate a transfer request, cancel a transfer request,
approve a transfer request, and reject a transfer request.

Update
The EPP 〈update〉 command is used to change information associated with a
known object. The elements needed to identify and modify an object are object specific,
so the child elements of the 〈update〉 command are specified using the
EPP extension framework.


The registry will provide the following commands for each object.

- Contact Object:
Contact Check, Contact Create, Contact Info, Contact Update, Contact
Transfer and Contact Delete

- Domain Object:
Domain Check, Domain Create, Domain Info, Domain Update, Domain
Renew, Domain Transfer and Domain Delete

- Host Object:
Host Check, Host Create, Host Info, Host Update and Host Delete

EPP interface also defines the following requests: login, logout, hello and poll. They
allow EPP client to establish a connection to EPP server. The poll action is the
mechanism by which a registrar can retrieve notifications from the registry, such
as object transfer-away notifications. The only EPP extension that is intended to be
implemented is DNSSEC extension defined in RFC 5910.

Resourcing plan
Resourcing plan is based on the size of 1,000 or less domain names under .SCB
within the first three years of the delegation. Refer to resourcing plan described in
the response to Question 24, during the initial implementation phase, four system
engineers of ThailNameServer will responsible for registry system setup,
customization and implementation for .scb, including the EPP implementation and
integration. Two system administrators and three technicians will responsible for
the on-going operation and maintenance of the registry system. Roles of the
system administrators include EPP operational and maintenance and roles of the
technicians include
- 24x7 system and database monitoring; and
- 24x7 technical support point of contact

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