CentralNic has performed a number of migrations for registries of all sizes. We have a tried-and-trusted model for migrating TLDs onto our system.

Ultimately, the success of any migration is dependent on the co-operation of all parties concerned - the existing registry operator needs to assist in the process or there is a risk of inaccuracy or unavailability of zone data.

Key considerations

• No downtime
• 100% integrity of data
• 100% compatibility for registrars

The Migration Process

• CentralNic and existing registry agree on method of transmitting registry data - usually XML or CSV format data
• Existing registry provides a sample of registry data to CentralNic
• CentralNic develops systems to import data into our registry. This includes a battery of tests to ensure that WHOIS, EPP and DNS zone data is unchanged during the transition
• Existing registry closes its registrar interfaces and exports a final data set
• CentralNic imports this data and builds a DNS zone
• CentralNic makes the TLD available via its interfaces
• Existing registry reconfigures its DNS servers to slave from CentralNic's servers
• The TLD manager submits a change request to IANA to make CentralNic authoritative (may happen up to one week before the transition takes place)
• The existing registry continues to serve the TLD (using CentralNic's zone data) for 7 days after the root zone changes are published
• After this time, the existing registry removes the TLD from the DNS servers

We have good relationships with other registry operators and have co-operated with them in the past during these migrations.