Editor’s note: OpenSRS offers 25 different top-level domains (TLDs) for our resellers. This is the seventh post in a series intended to share information about the wide range of TLDs and to introduce you to some of the available resources that the various Registries provide.
Denic eG is the registry provider for .DE, the third largest TLD and second largest ccTLD in the world. Like other early TLDs, .DE had its start in the 1980s in a university setting (in this case, the University of Dortmund). It quickly expanded with the growth of Internet use requiring the need for more formal management. A foundation was formed in 1993, followed closely by the establishment of the Denic cooperative in 1996. By then, there were approximately 20,000 domains in existence. Now more than a decade later, the volume of .DE domains has grown to more than 12.9 million.
.DE Quick Facts:
- Denic cooperative founded in December 1996
- Number of .DE domains: 12,923,320 (check out their Daily Domain counter)
- Third largest TLD and second largest ccTLD in the world
- Full historical timeline
- Administrative contact must be a resident of Germany
Available resources:
- Denic Website
- Extensive FAQ
- Great RFC (Request for Comment) Library on DNS
- Zone check tool
- Mailing lists (including maintenance)
- News and press releases (in German)
- DNSSEC presentations
- Statistics
Tags: Registries