domreg/registrar

a lightweight domain registration system

tom jennings

mru 22 March 2005

domreg is a very lightweight domain registration and management
system, to handle new registrations, modify existing or delete
existing domains. With a web interface for registrants, and
web/email interface for registrars, it provides a simple but
complete system for managing outstanding/in-process registrations.

The goal is a minimal but fully-functional, extremely robust, and
exhaustively error-checked system using all open source
components.

domreg requires an externally-provided RPSL-interfaced registry
for each tld.


domreg consists of three active components:

	domreg		registrant (user) web interface code
	registrar	registrar (manager) web interface code
	mailack		RPSL/email interface



                            browser interfaces


                  registrant             registrar
                   |    ^                 |     ^
                   |    |                 |     |
                   |    |                 |     |
                   v    |                 v     |
registrant ----> cgi/domreg --+------> cgi/registrar ------> 
                     ^        |              ^              REGISTRY
                     |        |              |
                     +--------+              +-------------





                                     |
<------------------ PUBLIC --------->|<---- REGISTRAR ---->
                                     |


A registrant uses cgi/domreg to fill forms with data sufficient
for the task (eg. new domain). The domreg code ensures integrity.
Once the all of the data has been gathered and checked, and the
registrant clicks SUBMIT, the registration becomes visible to the
registrant. At that point the registrant is given a persistent URL
that provides registration status; registration data cannot be
modified by the registrant.

The registrar (person) uses cgi/registrar to manage domregs
sucessfully submitted by the registrant. Domregs can be reviewed,
edited, submitted onward to the registry, or bounced back to the
registrant for corrections. Submissions to the registry are done
via email.

mailack processes incoming mail from the registry, looking for
success/fail replies on outstanding domregs; the result of these
replies is stored in the small database of outstanding
registrations.  (This is NOT a registry database.)



TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

domreg uses only common tools and components (Perl, Apache, CGI,
sql, email). It performs very thorough data integrity checks on
both contact and DNS data.

	All serverside CGI, not javascript etc, because:
	2. no browser dependency (other than HTML...)
	3. client-side checking does not remove need for server-side check
	4. Single control over field-format error emssages


COMPONENTS

The system consists of the following functional components. A
detailed list of components, and installation instructions, is
FIXME elsewhere.

cgi/domreg

This is the main registrant interface. It uses Apache UNIQUE_ID to
identify the user and index the local database of in-progress
registrations. It presents the registrant with a sequence of CGI
forms, soliciting the data required to complete a registration,
performs integrity checks on form and nameserver data. Details of
the precise checks informed is covered in detail FIXME.

cgi/registrant

This is the main registrar interface. It tracks the registrar web
connection using UNIQUE_ID after a login/password pair.
cgi/registrar's main page is a summary of domregs that reached the
SUBMIT state.  Selecting a domreg gives a page of tools to manage
the registration; edit, delete, bounce-back, or submit to the
registry. Responses from the registry are logged and visible.

mailack

This is a filter that receives incoming mail from RPSL-interfaced
registries, passed to it via procmail or other mechanism, based
upon a fabricated Subject: line. It parses selected message
contents and puts the results into the domreg/registrant database.

configuration

There is a text config file that controls most everything,
including a table of domains and associated registries.

about the local database

At the heart of domreg/registrar system is a small sql database,
one record per outstanding registration. registrants build a
registration, one field at a time, using the domreg CGI forms.  A
STATE field tracks progress of the record/registration throughout
its life.

Before registrant submission, records are indexed to the
registrants web ID, only. After submission they become visible to
the registrar. Before submission, records are deleted if they "age
out" before the registrant submits them. The database is
periodically purged of deleted records.


domreg is implemented with: apache and CGI, perl5, as few Perl
packages as possible, a filter inserted in the email stream (eg.
via procmail) and optionally mySQL and https.