Federated Internet Registry Service

FIRS (Federated Internet Registry Service) is a distributed service for storing, locating and transferring information about Internet resources using LDAPv3.

FIRS is intended to provide a distributed Whois-like information service, using the LDAPv3 specifications [RFC3377] for the data-formatting and query-transport functions.

FIRS has a collection of specifications which define the following service elements: Namespace Rules, Schema Definitions, Query-Processing Rules.

Background

The original WHOIS service [RFC812] was intended to be a centralized repository of ARPANET resources and users. Over time a lot of Whois resouces sprung all over the world, only providing information about particular network resources under the control of a specific organization.

RFC812 and its successors didn't have a strict set of data-typing or formatting requirements. This resulted in different implementations providing different kinds of information. There were also problems with privacy and security.

Thus, FIRS was bourn out of a need for specifications which cumulatively define astructured and distributed information service, including an extensible framework and resource-specific definitions.

The Cross Registry Internet Service Protocol (CRISP) working group of the IETF is responsible for development of FIRS.

External links

• The Federated Internet Registry Service: Architecture and Implementation Guide
• The Federated Internet Registry Service: Core Elements
• Defining and Locating Autonomous System Numbers in the Federated Internet Registry Service
• Defining and Locating Contact Information in the Federated Internet Registry Service