Abstract:
A system and method for modifying a bulk set of domain names through bulk operations. A request to modify a bulk set of data associated with domain names is received by a registry. A bulk processing engine associated with the registry can analyze the requested update job, and enforce compliance with a set of policies governing the operation of registry. A priority level can also be assigned to the requested job, so that it will be executed before or after other pending jobs. The user can likewise provide user-supplied policies, which can also be validated against the set of registry policies. Data faults can be reduced or eliminated, and update operations can be performed by comparatively inexperienced personnel.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is related, and claims priority, to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/639,751, filed Apr. 27, 2012, entitled “Bulk Management of Registry Objects,” by the same inventors herein, assigned or under obligation of assignment to the same entity as this application, and which provisional application is incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD  
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to the field of managing domain names, and more particularly, to systems and methods for modifying domain names through bulk operations. 
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]    The Domain Name System (DNS) allows people using the Internet to refer to domain names, rather than Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, when accessing websites and other online services. Domain names, which employ text characters, such as letters, numbers, and hyphens (e.g., “www.example.com”), will often be easier to remember than IP addresses, which are numerical and do not contain letters or hyphens (e.g., “128.1.0.0”). 
         [0004]    Domains exist at various different levels within the DNS hierarchy. For example, a generic top-level domain (gTLD), such as .COM or .NET, is a domain at the highest level in the DNS hierarchy. Another type of TLD is a country-code top-level domain (ccTLD) such as, for example, .UK. A second-level level domain (SLD) is a subdomain of a TLD (including gTLD and ccTLD), which is directly below the TLD in the DNS hierarchy. For example, .COM is the TLD and EXAMPLE is the SLD for the domain name “www.example.com.” 
         [0005]    Registries manage the domain names of each TLD. For example, Verisign is a well-known registry, and it manages the .COM and .NET TLDs. To maintain a domain name in accordance with current regulations mandated by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the registry responsible for a TLD is required to maintain a certain minimum amount of information associated with the domain name to ensure proper identification, security features, ownership, operability, and other attributes associated with the domain name. For example, all domain registrants are required to make available to the registry or the registrar their current administrative contact information. Also, in order for a domain name to work correctly, the registry must have nameserver information for the domain name to load into the registry&#39;s TLD DNS system to refer outside DNS requests to the proper authoritative DNS servers. Other information encoded in the registry can include the registrar through which the domain name&#39;s registration took place, the registration date, the expiration date, and the status of the domain name. 
         [0006]    Registries often need to modify a set of data encoded in their data stores on a large-scale bulk or batch basis. For example, registries may need to transfer a large number of registered domain names from one owner to another, for instance when corporate entities merge or otherwise change. Registries may need to update the records in their data stores to transfer domains from one registrar to another registrar. Registries may need to perform these and other update operations at once or concurrently. These operations can include updating the domain names&#39; statuses, expiration dates, or associated nameservers. Registries may modify a bulk set of domain names for their own maintenance purposes, and/or may be required to do so by ICANN, a court order, or other third-party entity. In cases, the domain names themselves may be updated, and in cases, attributes associated with the domain names can in addition or instead be updated. 
         [0007]    Modifying a bulk set of domain names typically involves a high level of coordination among multiple registry administrators, and typically requires manual checks to ensure that proper action is taken in handling the data update. In carrying out these update operations, the chance of introducing data faults or programmatic errors is high. In general, in maintenance operations as known, a registry administrative user must manually modify each domain name in a bulk request, with or without the assistance of a bulk tool, which could require the handling of thousands of domain names. Successfully completing the various modifications, without making mistakes or causing other unintended impacts to related data, demands someone with expertise in the data structures and content of the registry&#39;s system (e.g., a “super user”). Even with a highly experienced user, a great deal of time and care is required to perform large-scale update operations on a registry. And when those operations are carried out, it is not uncommon to discover that at least some of the updates to the registry could or have caused violations of underlying registry policy, data dependency problems, and/or other programmatic faults. 
         [0008]    There accordingly exists a need to enable bulk modifications and associated large-scale operations on DNS registries, while at the same time carrying out policy enforcement and other integrity checks to ensure a complete and correct modification process which reduces or eliminates programmatic update errors. Furthermore, registries may wish to schedule large-scale update operations during times which minimize the impact on regular DNS operations. Registries may likewise desire to track update operations and generate reports on update results, for purposes of later audits, version rollbacks, or other purposes. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary system for modifying domain names through bulk operations using the disclosed embodiments. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary method for determining priority levels to employ for use cases for executing bulk operations using the disclosed embodiments. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary list of use cases and priority levels for implementing the disclosed embodiments. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary table of use cases for implementing the disclosed embodiments. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary subsystem for modifying domain names through bulk operations, in which a bulk processing engine polls a job queue, modifies domain names in a domain name database, and generates a report using the disclosed embodiments. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary method for modifying domain names in response to a request using the disclosed embodiments. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]    Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of the disclosure, certain examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  illustrates a system  100  for managing a large number of domain names through bulk operations. In system  100 , a user  102  may receive a request to modify information associated with a number of domain names (which can be referred to as a “bulk request”) from a requester  101 . User  102  can be a user of a registry that manages the TLD of the subject domain names. Requester  101  could include a third-party entity such as ICANN, a court submitting a court order requesting modification, a corporation, or another third-party. In embodiments, third-party requester  101  may include the registry itself that manages the TLD of the domain names. Thus, registries may on their own decide to modify information associated with a large number of domain names, at once. 
         [0017]    In conventional DNS platforms, a user would receive the request and manually modify each domain name in a registry database. Because this requires a high level of expertise, registries typically employed highly skilled users to perform the necessary modifications. The system  100 , however, provides a means for enabling any user  102 , including a novice user, to process the requests directly. 
         [0018]    Once user  102  receives the request, he or she may create a job for processing the request on a batch basis, using a bulk management user interface  103 . Bulk management user interface  103  may be configured to allow user  102  to define custom parameters for the pending job. Bulk management user interface  103  may also be configured to display to user  102  information related to the status of the job, such as whether the job is still pending, is executing, or has been completed. Bulk management user interface  103  may in implementations be or include a software application running on a server. In other embodiments, it may be or include a Web interface with access available only to qualified registry users. 
         [0019]    User  102  may submit the requested job to a queue  106  in a registry database  105 . Registry database  105  may contain one or more additional databases, such as a domain name database  107 , which stores administrative information and other data relating to each domain name in a particular TLD. Registry database  105  may have an associated bulk processing engine  104 , which can be or include hardware, software, communications resources configured to assist in the management of update operations of the registry database  105 . In aspects, the bulk processing engine  104  can organize, maintain, and store data, software, and/or other resources to carry out update operations on the registry database  105  and associated data on an automated, scheduled, and/or otherwise programmatic basis. Registry database  105  may store information that the bulk processing engine  104  may use to process the jobs in queue  106 . Registry database  105  may likewise have an associated set of registry policies  115  which govern the operation of the registry database  105 , including to ensure data consistency, verify fault-fee data dependencies, maintain data privacy and/or security, and other desired features. 
         [0020]    For example,  FIG. 2  illustrates a method  200  used by a registry for storing information that bulk processing engine  104  may use to process the jobs in queue  106 . In one embodiment, processing can begin in  202 . In  204 , a registry may define a particular action to be performed on information associated with a bulk set of domain names. Registries may, in cases, designate these actions as “use cases” or “bulk operations.” Each use case or bulk operation can have a unique set of parameters and built-in validation to enable user  102  to execute them safely.  FIG. 3  illustrates exemplary use cases  301  of bulk operations to be performed on information associated a bulk set of domain names. For example, in one embodiment a registry may determine the need to modify the expiration date of a large set of domain names. A registry may designate this use case as a “BulkUpdate  302 .” In other embodiments, a registry may determine the need to transfer ownership of a bulk set of domain names from a first owner to a second owner, which task can be designated as a “BulkTransfer  303 .” Other use cases or operations are possible. 
         [0021]    Turning back to  FIG. 2 , in  206 , the bulk processing engine  104  can validate or normalize the requested job or actions against the set of registry policies  115 . For instance, the bulk processing engine  104  can identify requested actions which would results in a change or update to a domain name and/or other record which has the status of “pending delete” or “pending transfer.” The bulk processing engine  104  can suspend or deny those operations, since those records are scheduled to be removed from or moved within the registry database  105 . The bulk processing engine  104  can test the requested job or actions against other types of status or attributes associated with the records of the registry database  105 , as well. Bulk processing engine  104  can likewise enforce other kinds of policies during bulk processing operations, such as for instance security policies involving privilege rights of users. 
         [0022]    In  208 , a registry may assign a priority for a particular use case. The priority of a use case may determine when bulk processing engine  104  processes the job related to a bulk set of domain names. 
         [0023]      FIG. 3  also illustrates exemplary priority levels  304  for any given use case (low/high), but it will be appreciated that other types of priorities may be used. In terms of order or schedule of execution, in embodiments as shown, a priority level of HighPriority  305  indicates that the use case will always get processed at the immediate next available time. In some embodiments, a first job designated as HighPriority  305  will be processed after all other jobs designated as HighPriority  305 —that were created and entered into queue  106  before the first job—get processed. A priority level of LowPriority  306  indicates that the use case will get processed, but not during a certain time interval and/or before high-priority tasks. In some embodiments, this time interval can reflect the time when the registry&#39;s servers are typically busiest (e.g., a “peak period”). A registry may not want bulk processing engine  104  to make modifications to the registry&#39;s system during those peak periods, because it would overload the system, risking malfunction. In cases, this time interval can be from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM during weekdays or at other times, but will be appreciated that other intervals can be used to identify peak periods or other periods of interest. 
         [0024]    Referring again to  FIG. 2 , in  210 , a registry may store the use case and (and any assigned priority for that use case) in a local database.  FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary table of stored use cases  401 . In table  401 , a registry may store BulkUpdate  302  as one of the bulk operations to be performed on a bulk set of domain names and may assign it HighPriority  305 . Table  401  also illustrates that a registry may store BulkTransfer  303  as a bulk operation, assigning it LowPriority  306 . 
         [0025]    In embodiments shown in  FIG. 2 , in  210  a registry may store one or more use cases and associated priority levels in registry database  105  or other storage, accessible by bulk processing engine  104 . A registry may also from time to time modify its use cases and/or their priority levels. For example, a registry may add a new use case and assign it a priority level, or a registry may delete use cases. Additionally, a registry may change the stored or preassigned priority level of a particular use case. For example, in one embodiment, a registry may change the priority level of BulkUpdate  302  in table  401  ( FIG. 4 ) from HighPriority  305  to LowPriority  306 . In other embodiments, bulk processing engine  104  may store the use case and its priority in a local database or other data store. A registry may then send updates to bulk processing engine  104  reflecting changes to the use cases or their priority levels. Bulk processing engine  104  uses the use cases and their stored priorities in determining how and when to process each job created by user  102 . In  212 , the registry  105  can carry out the selected or scheduled use case and/or other action. In  214 , the registry  105  can generate a report and/or store results, for audit or other purposes. In  216 , processing can return to a prior processing point, jump to a further processing point, or end. 
         [0026]    Referring again to  FIG. 1 , once user  102  submits a job to queue  106 , bulk processing engine  104  will process the job according to the priority level indicated by the job&#39;s use case.  FIG. 5  illustrates aspects of a subsystem  500  for bulk processing engine  104  to perform bulk operations on information associated with a set of domain names. In embodiments, bulk processing engine  104  may poll queue  106  in registry database  105  to determine whether any new jobs have been added to queue  106 . If bulk processing engine  104  determines that a new job exists, it may determine whether the job is ready to be executed, according to its priority level. For example, at 2:30 PM bulk processing engine  104  may determine that a new job has been created in queue  106 , whose use case is BulkTransfer  303  ( FIG. 4 ). In embodiments, bulk processing engine  104  may then determine that BulkTransfer  303  has been assigned LowPriority  306 , meaning that this job cannot be executed from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM or other peak period. In this case, bulk processing engine  104  will not immediately process this job and will wait until the job can be executed, according to its priority level. Bulk processing engine  104  can continue to poll queue  106  for jobs that are ready to be executed. 
         [0027]    In  FIG. 5 , if a job is ready to be executed, a job processor  501  in bulk processing engine  104  may process the job. For example, in one embodiment, if the job indicates BulkUpdate  302  is to be performed on 1,000 domain names, job processor  501  will update the expiration date of each of the 1,000 domain names in domain name database  107 . Thus, job processor  501  can operate asynchronously of user  102  and other registry system operations. In this manner, user  102  can schedule in advance multiple jobs to be processed by job processor  501  in bulk processing engine  104 . 
         [0028]    In executing the job for a bulk set of domain names, bulk processing engine  104  can be configured to keep reports for purposes of an audit trail of the modifications performed on the information in domain name database  107 . For example, if a court ordered the bulk operation on the information associated with a bulk set of domain names, a registry may want to provide a report after completing the operation to verify that it satisfied the court order. In one embodiment, a report handler  502  in bulk processing engine  104  may track the modifications performed to registry data, and generate a report detailing the operations performed by job process  501 . Report handler  502  may send the report to user  102 , for instance via an e-mail message and/or other messaging format. The report may deliver the results of the job, and can if desired be customized based on the use case. 
         [0029]    In further embodiments, report handler  502  in addition or instead may deliver the report to bulk management user interface  103  ( FIG. 1 ), which can be accessed and viewed by user  102 . Report handler  502  may provide the current status of the job in bulk management user interface  103 . For example, report handler  502  may indicate that the job is waiting for execution, currently being executed, or completed. 
         [0030]    Returning to  FIG. 1 , once bulk processing engine  104  has executed a job in queue  106 , registry database  105 , potentially including domain name database  107  and/or other data stores, will reflect the changes to the information associated with domain names that were requested in the user&#39;s job request. Those changes in registry database  105  and/or other data stores may be pushed to one or more resolution services. The resolution services may include a DNS resolution server  110  for the Internet  111 , a WHOIS server  108 , a billing application  109 , and/or other server, application, or service. DNS resolution server  110  may store a mapping of the modified domain names to IP addresses. WHOIS server  108  may store administrative and contact data regarding the customers (e.g., registrants) that have created the domain names. Billing application  109  may store and process financial information regarding the domain names. For example, in performing the bulk operation on information associated with a bulk set of domain names, the registrant who should be billed for the registration of the domain name may change as a result of the bulk operation. The new registrant&#39;s information may be propagated to billing application  109  and/or other application or services, so that it can bill the correct entity for the domain name registration. 
         [0031]      FIG. 6  illustrates a method  600  for performing bulk operations on information associated with a bulk set of domain names. In  602 , processing can begin. In  602 , user  102  ( FIG. 1 ) may receive a request to modify information associated with a bulk set of domain names. User  102  may receive the request from third-party requester  101 , from the registry itself, and/or from other sources. In step  604 , user  102  may determine a use case of the request. For example, user  102  may determine that the request seeks for a registry to update the expiration dates of a set of domain names, in one operation. In that case, user  102  may determine that the use case of the request is BulkUpdate  302  ( FIG. 3 ) and the priority of BulkUpdate  302  is HighPriority  305  ( FIGS. 3-4 ). 
         [0032]    In step  608 , user  102  may create a job for the request, for instance using bulk management user interface  103 . In embodiments, user  102  may generate or specify customized policies or parameters for one or more of the domain names or other records in the subject set of domain names. For example, in embodiments, user  102  may want to skip domain names that have a particular status, such as “pending transfer” or “pending delete.” If a particular domain name is pending transfer to another owner, user  102  may not want bulk processing engine  104  to modify the expiration date of that domain name so that it can be transferred to the new owner, as is. Other situations may exist where user  102  may want customized policies for a particular domain name or based on other factors. The customized policies specified by the user can be received, stored, modified, and/or applied by the policy engine  503  ( FIG. 5 ), and/or by other logic or services. 
         [0033]    Thus, user  102  may prevent the bulk operation from being executed on a particular domain name or sets of domain names, by generating customized policies, when desired. The policy engine  503  can, in general, validate or rectify any user-supplied policies against the set of registry policies  115 , to ensure that the parameters supplied by the user do not cause a conflict or fault in the data or the execution of the user&#39;s job. In this manner, even though the job created by user  102  will include every domain name in the bulk set, bulk processing engine  104  will only modify those domain names according to both the use case, the set of registry policies  115 , and the user-supplied customized policies. 
         [0034]    In  610 , user  102  may submit the job to queue  106  ( FIG. 1 ) to be processed. The job may now contain the use case or other specification of the request, the priority of the job, and any customized policies for information related to domain names. For example, the job may indicate that the use case is BulkUpdate  302 , and the priority is HighPriority  305  ( FIGS. 3-4 ). Further, the job may contain user-supplied customized policies for domains that have a “pending transfer” or “pending delete” status, such that the BulkUpdate  302  operation does not get executed on those domain names. The job may also indicate the bulk set of domain names on which BulkUpdate  302  should be executed. 
         [0035]    In  612 , bulk processing engine  104  ( FIGS. 1 and 5 ) can poll queue  106  to determine if the job is ready to be executed. In embodiments, bulk processing engine  104  can determine whether other jobs in queue  106  were created before the instant job, and if so, whether those other jobs have the same or different comparative priority as the instant job. Thus, in some embodiments, bulk processing engine  104  may first execute other jobs that have the same priority level but earlier queue entry time as the instant job. In other embodiments, bulk processing engine  104  may determine that the instant job&#39;s priority indicates that it should not yet be executed. For example, if the instant job had a priority of LowPriority  306 , and bulk processing engine  104  polled queue  106  at 2:30 PM, it may determine that the instant job should not yet be executed. In that case, bulk processing engine  104  can continue to query queue  106  to determine if other jobs are ready to be executed. 
         [0036]    Once bulk processing engine  104  determines that the instant job is ready to be executed, it may modify information related to the bulk set of domain names (indicated in the job) according to the use case or other update specifications or details, and the customized policies indicated in the job, if any. In embodiments, bulk processing engine  104  may store information relating to the job in a local database or other data store. Bulk processing engine  104  may execute the bulk operation of the job on each domain name in the bulk set of domain names. As a result, bulk processing engine  104  can modify information in the registry database  105 , and any of its constituent parts such as domain name database  107 , and/or other associated records. 
         [0037]    In embodiments, user  102  may at times want to reverse the bulk operations performed on a bulk set of domain names. By referencing the report generated by report handler  502  ( FIG. 5 ), user  102  may create a new job in step  603  ( FIG. 6 ) to be executed by bulk processing engine  104  ( FIG. 5 ). The new job may indicate to bulk processing engine  104  to reverse the changes made in the previous job, such that the information associated with the subject domain names reverts back to their original state. 
         [0038]    The foregoing description is illustrative, and variations in configuration and implementation may occur to persons skilled in the art. For example, while embodiments have been described in which one bulk processing engine  104  operates to control one registry database  105 , in embodiments, one bulk processing engine  104  can control and manage multiple databases for one or more registries. Similarly, while embodiments have been described in which bulk processing engine  104  is configured as a single device or service, in embodiments, the bulk processing engine  104  can be implemented as multiple servers, platforms, applications, and/or services, including applications, data, and/or services hosted in a cloud-based network. Other resources described as singular or integrated can in embodiments be plural or distributed, and resources described as multiple or distributed can in embodiments be combined. The scope of the present teachings is accordingly intended to be limited only by the following claims.