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Frequently visited

Frequently asked questions

  • I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?

    The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.

    On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.

  • I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?

    To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.

  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?

    To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.

  • Why is my domain name in quarantine?

    When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.

    One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.

  • Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?

    Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.

  • What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?

    Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.

More frequently asked questions

SIDN Labs' stats site extended

Data now easy to download.

SIDN Labs' stats site (stats.sidnlabs.nl) has been extended. The redesigned site provides statistical information about a wider range of subjects, as outlined below. Another handy feature of the new site is that the data is now easy to download, e.g. for use in your own research or applications.

The graphs make use of data from the ENTRADA platform. There is a Dutch-language version of the site and an English-language version. The version that opens by default depends on your browser's language settings.More new statistics will be added in the period ahead, so look out for updates! We also welcome suggestions about the statistics you'd like to see on the site: mail your ideas to sidnlabs@sidn.nl.

Category

Graph

DNS

Unique domain names: the daily number of unique .nl domain names that the DNS queries handled by SIDN relate to. The graph shows that every day more than 80 per cent of all .nl domain names are polled at least once.

Query types: shows the most common types of DNS query handled by SIDN. Query types A, AAAA, NS and MX dominate, just as one would expect at TLD level.

Response codes: response codes indicate whether our name servers have been able to resolve incoming DNS queries. One of the interesting features of the graph is the high number of NXDOMAINs in the period after 28 July 2015. The peak is due to one particular party sending a stream of dictionary-based queries with a view to building up a picture of the .nl domain names already in existence.

Queries per IP version: use of IP version 6 (IPv6) is growing, because almost all IP version 4 addresses have been used. The expectation is, therefore, that more and more resolvers will start using IPv6. The graph shows that, at the moment, just under 20 per cent of all queries come from resolvers with IPv6 addresses.

Network

Unique IP addresses and networks: shows how many unique resolvers SIDN deals with each day and how many distinct networks the resolvers belong to. There is a clear difference between the weekday pattern and the weekend pattern.

IP version: the number of resolvers that have IPv6 addresses. As the graph shows, an average of about 8 per cent of all the resolvers that SIDN deals with have IPv6 addresses. The resolvers in question are responsible for roughly 20 per cent of all queries, however.

Transmission protocol: this graph shows which transmission protocols are used by the resolvers that send the DNS queries handled by SIDN. UDP is the dominant protocol. If the name server responds with a truncated (TC) bit, the resolver switches to TCP. It is apparent, however, that some resolvers nevertheless set up TCP sessions, during which they send millions of queries.

Geographical location: the geographical locations of the machines that send the queries handled by SIDN's .nl name servers. The graph shows that most queries come from the Netherlands, the USA and Germany. The large number of queries from the USA reflects the importance of big public resolvers such as Google Public DNS and OpenDNS.

Registrations

The number of .nl domain name registrations.

Article by:

Maarten Wullink

Research engineer