Query domain information with RDAP
At Your Fingertips
RDAP provides structured information about domains. Besides practical command-line query tools, there are also libraries for integrating the protocol into your own programs.
Since the early days of the Internet and its division into different organizational areas, users have needed a way to obtain information about domains, the IP addresses they use, their owners, and a way of mapping them to each other. The WHOIS protocol was devised for this purpose in 1982 and introduced in RFC 812 [1]. The service can be accessed using a command-line tool of the same name, whois
. The age and importance of the protocol are evident from, among other things, its very low number – 43 – in the list of standardized ports for network services [2], which can be found in the file /etc/services
[3].
Thus far, this plain-text protocol has proven its value thanks to its simplicity, even if only request and response have been standardized in a fairly rough framework. The last update in RFC 3912 dates back to 2004 [4]. (See the "Regulations on WHOIS in Europe" box for details on that topic.) The search for a replacement has been underway for some time. The ideal candidate is the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP) [6], which is defined in more detail in RFC 9082 [7].
RDAP
The idea is for RDAP to completely replace WHOIS. It provides information about a domain via the HTTP protocol. This eliminates the need to open port 43 in the firewall. RDAP was standardized back in 2015 by an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) working group.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.