The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has officially reserved the .internal top-level domain (TLD) for private use at the DNS level. This decision aims to provide a standardized TLD for internal networks, similar to how certain IPv4 address blocks are reserved for private use.
Resolved (2024.07.29.06), the Board reserves .INTERNAL from delegation in the DNS root zone permanently to provide for its use in private-use applications. The Board recommends that efforts be undertaken to raise awareness of its reservation for this purpose through the organization’s technical outreach.
https://www.icann.org/en/board-activities-and-meetings/materials/approved-resolutions-special-meeting-of-the-icann-board-29-07-2024-en#section2.a (2024-08-19)
Key points
- The .internal TLD will never be delegated in the global DNS root, ensuring it can be safely used for internal networks without conflicts.
- This move addresses the issue of organizations creating ad hoc TLDs for private use, which could lead to confusion.
- Google’s VP and Chief Internet Evangelist, Vint Cerf, revealed that Google and many of its cloud customers have been using .internal for years.
- ICANN believes this reservation won’t introduce new security or stability issues, but its effectiveness in improving the current situation remains uncertain.
Network administrators now have a sanctioned alternative for internal DNS naming, potentially simplifying and standardizing private network configurations across the internet.
