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By: James Koole on October 25th, 2010
Posted in: OpenSRS Services, Reseller Resources
Tags: .CA, CIRA, Domain Service
Comments: 3

The transition to the new EPP-based registry platform for .CA domains went very smoothly. The last of a couple of minor bugs have now been fixed and everything is back to the new normal for .CA domains.

We thank all of our Resellers for their help and patience throughout the transition process. The result is a better experience for .CA domain registrants and a .CA domain extension that’s much easier to sell and support.

Locking your .CA Domains

We do have one important follow-up note for Resellers with .CA domains in their accounts. With the transition to the new platform, domain locking is now available for .CA domains. The default state for domains after the transition is “unlocked” so you will want to lock the .CA domains in your account to provide an added level of security to the registrants of those domains.

Using the “Bulk Domain Change Management” section of the Reseller Web Interface makes this a pretty simple task:

• Click on “Bulk Domain Change Management”. Then click “Bulk Domain Search” which will allow you to get a list of all the .CA domains in your account.
• Search for “*” and select .ca domains in the “Search for Domains by TLD” section. Add your email address and click “Results to File” to run the search.
• In a few minutes you’ll receive a list of the .ca domains in your account. Copy the list out of the email and then paste it into a text editor and save it as a .txt file with one domain per line.
• Return back to the “Bulk Domain Change Management” screen and click on “Domain Lock” to start the locking process.
• On the next screen, select “Upload a list of items” and then “Choose File” to upload the text file you just created. Add you email address to get a confirmation email when the bulk change is completed. Then select “Lock Domain(s)” and click “Submit” to lock the domains.

Here’s a quick screencast tutorial demonstrating how to do it:

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By: James Koole on October 12th, 2010
Posted in: Announcements, OpenSRS Services
Tags: .CA, CIRA
Comments: 0

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) has begun the transition to its new registry platform as of this morning at 9am EDT. We’re keeping a close eye on things over at CIRA and we’re in regular communication with the registry throughout the transition.

The CIRA registry is unavailable throughout the 24 hour transition period. That means no new orders, or changes to existing .ca domain names. All .ca domains will continue to work at all times during the transition.

CIRA expects to be back up and live on the new platform tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9am EDT and we’ll resume taking .ca orders at that time.

In the meantime, you can stay up-to-date through OpenSRS System Status and here at the Reseller Blog. For a complete rundown of what’s changing, visit our CA Transition page.

You might also want to follow us on Twitter and CIRA also has a number of Twitter accounts that they use to pass along important information:

• @OpenSRS
• @CIRANEWS
• @CIRASystems – providing updates on the CIRA platform
• @cira001 – CIRA CEO Byron Holland

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By: James Koole on October 7th, 2010
Posted in: OpenSRS Services
Tags: .CA, CIRA, Domain Service
Comments: 0

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is transitioning to a new Registry platform for .CA domains beginning on October 12, 2010. OpenSRS is ready to go, and we expect a successful transition to the new platform along with CIRA.

Test Environment Updated

Resellers with API integrations for .CA domains are encouraged to test them using the Horizon Test Environment which has been updated and is now connected to the new CIRA Registry Platform Test Bed.

The Reseller Web Interface (RWI) in the Horizon Test Environment has also been updated and now reflects what you will see after the Registry Transition takes place. Please familiarize yourself with the changes to how .CA domains are provisioned and managed.

For more information on timelines and to view a webinar held with CIRA about the changes, visit the CIRA Registry Platform Transition page we’ve setup to keep you informed.

Status Updates During the Transition

During, and after the transition, Resellers can get updates through OpenSRS System Status. You can subscribe to realtime status updates via email by visiting the System Status Subscription Centre.

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By: Ben Lucier on September 24th, 2010
Posted in: Events
Tags: CIRA
Comments: 0

The Canadian Internet Registry Authority (CIRA), the governing body that maintains the dotCA domain registry held its annual general meeting and Symposium in Toronto this week.

CIRA’s President, Byron Holland described the relentless change on the Internet, year after year and the impossibility to predict that change. CIRA operates in a 100% uptime environment and has to be able to adapt and work in that kind of environment. A lot of changes have happened with the Registry over the past ten years and Byron committed his team will continue to make changes to improve the professionalism and operations of the Registry to ensure CIRA can adapt to the future needs of the Internet for Canadians.

In addition to panelist John Demco sharing a brief history about the Canadian Internet and a history of DNS from its original author, Paul Vixie, keynotes were delivered by marketing and branding experts, Terry O’Reilly and Mitch Joel,

Mitch and Terry delivered some great insight about the changing landscape of Internet marketing:

Terry talked about the importance about telling your story and the value of Canadian companies embracing a dotCA domain name. There’s a reason travelers sew the Canadian flag on their backpack– people like dealing with Canadians. The same can be true for businesses operating online in Canada.

Mitch, author of the best selling book, Six Pixels of Separation delivered on his promise of some crazy statistics which showed that clicks to banner ads have dropped more than 50% in the past year and grandparents than high school students are on Facebook.

The event was webcast and we’ll share the link once the archives are online. To learn more visit the CIRA Annual Report 2010 home page.

On a related note, the CIRA Board of Director election is also underway, so if you’re a dotCA member, we encourage you to review the candidates and participate in a process that can help shape the future of the dotCA.

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By: James Koole on January 5th, 2010
Posted in: Industry News
Tags: .CA, CIRA
Comments: 0

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is currently seeking interested individuals to serve as members on its 2010 Election Nomination Committee. Applications for consideration to become a member of the Nomination Committee will be accepted from January 4 to January 22, 2010.

CIRA is the steward of the .CA domain extension in Canada. Tucows has a long history of working with CIRA on its Board of Directors, and we encourage our Resellers in Canada to take an active role in CIRA, where possible.

You can visit this CIRA Nomination Committee webpage for more information about how to apply for a position on the Nomination Committee and the eligibility requirements. Feel free to pass this information around to other people that you feel might be interested or qualified to serve in this fashion.