Author:

R. S. Operators

Root Server System Operational Information
Abstract
Root Server Operators make certain operational details and other information available on theroot-servers.org public web site [Website]. This is the same information used to populate the mapof root server locations, and provides links to other resources such as contact addresses,
RSSAC001 statements, and RSSAC002 metrics. This information is available for download in
YAML and JSON formats from the website.
The purpose of this document is to describe the content and location of this operationalinformation.

Table of Contents
1. Background
2. Structure and Format
2.1. Operator
2.2. Homepage
2.3. IPv4
2.4. IPv6
2.5. ASN
2.6. Contact Email2.7. Peering Policy
2.8. Identifier Naming Convention
2.9. BGP Community Convention
2.10. BGP Extended Community Convention
2.11. BGP Large Community Convention
2.12. RSSAC001
2.13. RSSAC002
2.14. Statistics
2.15. Updated

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2.16. Sites
2.16.1. Type2.16.2. Country
2.16.3. Town
2.16.4. Latitude
2.16.5. Longitude
2.16.6. Instances
2.16.7. Identifiers
2.16.8. IPv4
2.16.9. IPv6
2.16.10. Status
2.16.11. BGP Site Identifier
2.16.12. BGP Origin AS
2.16.13. BGP Intermediate AS
2.16.14. ID
2.16.15. Created
2.16.16. Updated
3. Download Location
4. Informative References
Appendix A. Examples
A.1. YAML Example
A.2. JSON Example
Author's Address

1. Background
In March 2014, the Root Server Operators redesigned their public web site, www.root-servers.org[Website]. A new feature of this site was an interactive map showing the location of root server
instances.
Since August 2014 the operational data has been available for download in YAML file format, andmore recently also in JSON format.

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Since its initial development, the operational data has been expanded in purpose to convey
additional information, including references to other resources. Currently, the following types ofinformation are provided:• Root Server Operator's organization• IPv4 and IPv6 service addresses• Autonomous System Number and peering policy• Root server webpage and contact email• Anycast site locations• Identifier naming convention• Links to RSSAC001 statements• Links to RSSAC002 data and other statistics
The remaining sections of this document describe the format, meaning, and location of available
operational information.

2. Structure and Format
The operational information can be downloaded in either YAML or JSON file formats. Examples
are provided in Appendix A.1 and Appendix A.2. The top level is a YAML mapping or JSON object
having the following keys:

2.1. Operator
The name of the organization operating the root name server.

2.2. Homepage
The URL of the homepage for the root name server.

2.3. IPv4
The IPv4 address of the root name server.

2.4. IPv6
The IPv6 address of the root name server.

2.5. ASN
The Autonomous System Number (ASN) under which the RSO announces routes for the root
name server. Note that some RSOs might use additional or different ASNs for individual sites, as
described in Section 2.16.12 and Section 2.16.13. The one given here can be considered theprimary ASN.

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2.6. Contact EmailAn optional email address that can be used to contact the RSO.

2.7. Peering Policy
An optional URL for the RSO's published peering policy.

2.8. Identifier Naming Convention
Optional text describing the site naming convention used for identifying different instances ofthis root name server.

2.9. BGP Community Convention
Optional text describing the BGP Community convention used for identifying different sites ofthis root name server.

2.10. BGP Extended Community Convention
Optional text describing the BGP Extended Community convention used for identifying different
sites of this root name server.

2.11. BGP Large Community Convention
Optional text describing the BGP Large Community convention used for identifying different
sites of this root name server.

2.12. RSSAC001
An optional URL for the RSO's published RSSAC001 [RSSAC001] statement.

2.13. RSSAC002
An optional URL for the RSO's published RSSAC002 [RSSAC002] metrics. The URL should
correspond to what the RSSAC002 document calls <base-url>.
Note: This key was previously named just 'RSSAC' when this was the only RSSAC-related
information that RSOs were publishing.

2.14. Statistics
An optional URL for the RSO's published data and statistics. In some cases this is the same as theRSSAC002 URL.

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2.15. Updated
An ISO 8601 formatted UTC date and time indicating the date and time that the RSO's information
was most recently updated.
When using the common time function named "strftime", the format string "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ" generates an appropriate value, such as "2022-07-06T12:34:56Z".

2.16. Sites
A YAML sequence or JSON array of mappings describing where root name server instances arelocated. Since the original and primary purpose of this data is to populate the interactive map, asite essentially corresponds to a geographic location such as a town or city.
An RSO may provide the service from multiple instances at a single location, for example frommultiple datacenters in the same city. In this case, the RSO may choose to either:• group multiple instances together under a single site, and set the Instances counter to avalue greater than one; or• place individual instances into individual sites, setting Instances to one, and have multiple
sites with the same location data.
The latter approach is necessary when different instances at one location have different siteparameters, such as global/local scope, IPv4/IPv6 support, or BGP routing attributes.
Each site mapping / object has the following keys:
2.16.1. Type
Either the keyword Global or Local, reflecting the anycast reachability scope as defined in
Section 2 of [RFC4786].
2.16.2. Country
An ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
2.16.3. Town
The name of a city or town.
2.16.4. Latitude
Geographic latitude in decimal degrees notation.
2.16.5. Longitude
Geographic longitude in decimal degrees notation.
2.16.6. Instances
Number of anycast instances at this location.

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Note: number of instances is not specifically defined (e.g., as servers vs racks vs datacenters).
Each RSO is free to determine this value however they like, as it may pertain to their individualservices.
2.16.7. Identifiers
Optional sequence of instance identifiers in operation at this location. These are expected to be in
the same format as described in the top level "Identifier Naming Convention" element, or as one
might see in response to a HOSTNAME.BIND query to the root name server, or as returned by theDNS Name Server Identifier (NSID) option [RFC5001].
2.16.8. IPv4
Boolean value indicating whether or not this location provides service over IPv4.
2.16.9. IPv6
Boolean value indicating whether or not this location provides service over IPv6.
2.16.10. Status
An optional field indicating the operational status of the site, whose value is one of the following:
operational, suspended, or decommissioned.
Note that as part of normal operations RSOs may temporarily take sites out of service without
updating this field. In general this field represents a site's long term status, rather than its shortterm status.
2.16.11. BGP Site Identifier
Optional value used for identifying this location using a BGP Community.
The value of this element is to be used in the top level "BGP Community Convention", "BGP
Extended Community Convention" and/or "BGP Large Community Convention" elements.
2.16.12. BGP Origin AS
Optional ASN used as origin for BGP advertisements of the root server prefix at this location. If
this field is not specified, the originating AS is assumed to be the value of the top-level ASN field.
2.16.13. BGP Intermediate AS
Optional ASN appended to BGP advertisements of the root server prefixes at this location, used touniquely identify the site.
2.16.14. ID
A mandatory string used to track sites between updates. IDs may consist of letters, numbers,
underscores or hyphens with a maximum of 64 characters.

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2.16.15. Created
An optional, ISO 8601 formatted UTC date and time indicating the date and time that the site wascreated.
When using the common time function named "strftime", the format string "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ" generates an appropriate value, such as "2022-07-06T12:34:56Z".
2.16.16. Updated
An optional, ISO 8601 formatted UTC date and time indicating the date and time that the site's
information was most recently updated.
When using the common time function named "strftime", the format string "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ" generates an appropriate value, such as "2022-07-06T12:34:56Z".

3. Download Location
The operational information for each root server identity can be downloaded in YAML format at
the following URL:
https://root-servers.org/root/<letter>/yaml/

Where <letter> is replaced by the mnemonic letter for the root name server (i.e., A through M).
Similarly, the same information can be downloaded in JSON format at the following URL:
https://root-servers.org/root/<letter>/json/

4. Informative References[RFC4786]

Abley, J. and K. Lindqvist, "Operation of Anycast Services", BCP 126, RFC 4786,
DOI 10.17487/RFC4786, December 2006, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/
rfc4786>.

[RFC5001]

Austein, R., "DNS Name Server Identifier (NSID) Option" , RFC 5001, DOI10.17487/RFC5001, August 2007, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5001>.

[RSSAC001]

RSSAC Caucus, "Service Expectations of Root Servers Operators" , 4 December
2015, <https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/rssac-001-root-serviceexpectations-04dec15-en.pdf>.

[RSSAC002]

RSSAC Caucus, "RSSAC Advisory on Measurements of the Root Server System" ,12 March 2020, <https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/rssac-002measurements-root-12mar20-en.pdf>.

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Root Server Operators, "Root Server Operators Web Site", April 2024, <https://www.root-servers.org>.

Appendix A. Examples
A.1. YAML Example
This appendix contains an example in YAML format for one of the root name servers.

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ASN: 394353
BGP Community Convention: ''BGP Extended Community Convention: ''BGP Large Community Convention: ''Contact Email: b-poc@isi.edu
Homepage: http://b.root-servers.org/
IPv4: 170.247.170.2
IPv6: 2801:1b8:10::b
Identifier Naming Convention: b<N>-<IATA Code>Operator: Information Sciences InstitutePeering Policy: ''RSSAC001: ''RSSAC002: http://b.root-servers.org/rssac/
Sites:- BGP Intermediate AS: null
BGP Origin AS: null
BGP Site Identifier: ''Country: NL
Created: '2023-11-28T20:00:41Z'
ID: ams
IPv4: true
IPv6: true
Identifiers:- b1-ams- b2-ams- b3-ams- b4-ams
Instances: 1
Latitude: 52.366
Longitude: 4.894
Status: operational
Town: Amsterdam
Type: Global
Updated: '2024-02-23T22:43:01Z'- BGP Intermediate AS: null
BGP Origin AS: null
BGP Site Identifier: ''Country: US
Created: '2023-11-28T20:00:41Z'ID: lax
IPv4: true
IPv6: true
Identifiers:- b1-lax- b2-lax- b3-lax- b4-lax
Instances: 1
Latitude: 34.05
Longitude: -118.25
Status: operational
Town: Los Angeles
Type: Global
Updated: '2024-02-23T22:43:01Z'- BGP Intermediate AS: null
BGP Origin AS: null
BGP Site Identifier: ''Operators

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Country: US
Created: '2023-11-28T20:00:41Z'
ID: mia
IPv4: true
IPv6: true
Identifiers:- b1-mia- b2-mia- b3-mia- b4-mia
Instances: 1
Latitude: 25.775
Longitude: -80.209
Status: operational
Town: Miami
Type: Global
Updated: '2024-02-23T22:43:01Z'- BGP Intermediate AS: null
BGP Origin AS: null
BGP Site Identifier: ''Country: US
Created: '2023-11-28T20:00:41Z'
ID: iad
IPv4: true
IPv6: true
Identifiers:- b1-iad- b2-iad- b3-iad- b4-iad
Instances: 1
Latitude: 38.944
Longitude: -77.456
Status: operational
Town: Reston
Type: Global
Updated: '2024-02-23T22:43:01Z'- BGP Intermediate AS: null
BGP Origin AS: null
BGP Site Identifier: ''Country: CL
Created: '2023-11-28T20:00:41Z'
ID: scl
IPv4: true
IPv6: true
Identifiers:- b1-scl- b2-scl- b3-scl- b4-scl
Instances: 1
Latitude: -33.45
Longitude: -70.667
Status: operational
Town: Santiago
Type: Global
Updated: '2024-02-23T22:43:01Z'- BGP Intermediate AS: null

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BGP Origin AS: null
BGP Site Identifier: ''Country: SG
Created: '2023-11-28T20:00:41Z'
ID: sinIPv4: true
IPv6: true
Identifiers:- b1-sin- b2-sin- b3-sin- b4-sin
Instances: 1Latitude: 1.283
Longitude: 103.833
Status: operational
Town: Singapore
Type: Global
Updated: '2024-02-23T22:43:01Z'
Statistics: https://b.root-servers.org/rssac/
Updated: '2024-02-23T22:43:01Z'Operators

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"ASN": 5927,"BGP Community Convention": "","BGP Extended Community Convention": "","BGP Large Community Convention": "","Contact Email": "disa.columbus.ns.mbx.hostmaster-dod-nic@mail.mil","Homepage": "http://disa.mil/g-root","IPv4": "192.112.36.4","IPv6": "2001:500:12::d0d","Identifier Naming Convention": "groot-{theatre}{site}-{node}","Operator": "Defense Information Systems Agency","Peering Policy": "","RSSAC001": "","RSSAC002": "http://www.disa.mil/G-Root/G-Root-Stats","Sites": [{"BGP Intermediate AS": null,"BGP Origin AS": null,"BGP Site Identifier": "","Country": "US","Created": "2024-02-15T14:59:55Z","ID": "disa-cmh","IPv4": true,"IPv6": true,"Identifiers": ["groot-con1-1","groot-con1-2","groot-con1-3"],"Instances": 1,"Latitude": 39.9611755,"Longitude": -82.9987942,"Status": "operational","Town": "Columbus","Type": "Global","Updated": "2024-02-21T19:27:23Z"},{"BGP Intermediate AS": null,"BGP Origin AS": null,"BGP Site Identifier": "","Country": "US","Created": "2024-02-15T14:59:55Z","ID": "disa-hnl","IPv4": true,"IPv6": true,"Identifiers": ["groot-pac1-1","groot-pac1-2","groot-pac1-3"],"Instances": 1,"Latitude": 21.3069444,"Longitude": -157.8583333,"Status": "operational","Town": "Honolulu","Type": "Global",

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"Updated": "2024-02-21T19:27:23Z"},{"BGP Intermediate AS": null,"BGP Origin AS": null,"BGP Site Identifier": "","Country": "IT","Created": "2024-02-15T14:59:55Z","ID": "disa-nap","IPv4": true,"IPv6": true,"Identifiers": ["groot-eur2-1","groot-eur2-2","groot-eur2-3"],"Instances": 1,"Latitude": 40.8517746,"Longitude": 14.2681244,"Status": "operational","Town": "Naples","Type": "Global","Updated": "2024-02-21T19:27:23Z"},{"BGP Intermediate AS": null,"BGP Origin AS": null,"BGP Site Identifier": "","Country": "US","Created": "2024-02-15T14:59:55Z","ID": "disa-sat","IPv4": true,"IPv6": true,"Identifiers": ["groot-con2-1","groot-con2-2","groot-con2-3"],"Instances": 1,"Latitude": 29.4241219,"Longitude": -98.4936282,"Status": "operational","Town": "San Antonio","Type": "Global","Updated": "2024-02-21T19:27:23Z"},{"BGP Intermediate AS": null,"BGP Origin AS": null,"BGP Site Identifier": "","Country": "DE","Created": "2024-02-15T14:59:55Z","ID": "disa-str","IPv4": true,"IPv6": true,"Identifiers": ["groot-eur1-1","groot-eur1-2",

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"groot-eur1-3"],"Instances": 1,"Latitude": 48.7303646,"Longitude": 9.1079418,"Status": "operational","Town": "Stuttgart","Type": "Global","Updated": "2024-02-21T19:27:23Z"},{"BGP Intermediate AS": null,"BGP Origin AS": null,"BGP Site Identifier": "","Country": "JP","Created": "2024-02-15T14:59:55Z","ID": "disa-tyo","IPv4": true,"IPv6": true,"Identifiers": ["groot-pac2-1","groot-pac2-2","groot-pac2-3"],"Instances": 1,"Latitude": 35.7384505,"Longitude": 139.3269322,"Status": "operational","Town": "Tokyo","Type": "Global","Updated": "2024-02-21T19:27:23Z"}}],"Statistics": "https://disa.mil/G-Root/G-Root-Stats","Updated": "2024-02-21T19:27:23Z"

Author's Address
Root Server Operators
URI: https://root-servers.org/Operators

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