1. Introduction

This document introduces the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC). This document and its two companion documents ([RFC4034] and [RFC4035]) update, clarify, and refine the security extensions defined in [RFC2535] and its predecessors. These security extensions consist of a set of new resource record types and modifications to the existing DNS protocol ([RFC1035]). The new records and protocol modifications are not fully described in this document, but are described in a family of documents outlined in Section 10. Sections 3 and 4 describe the capabilities and limitations of the security extensions in greater detail. Section 5 discusses the scope of the document set. Sections 6, 7, 8, and 9 discuss the effect that these security extensions will have on resolvers, stub resolvers, zones, and name servers.

This document and its two companions obsolete [RFC2535], [RFC3008], [RFC3090], [RFC3445], [RFC3655], [RFC3658], [RFC3755], [RFC3757], and [RFC3845]. This document set also updates but does not obsolete [RFC1034], [RFC1035], [RFC2136], [RFC2181], [RFC2308], [RFC3225], [RFC3007], [RFC3597], and the portions of [RFC3226] that deal with DNSSEC.

The DNS security extensions provide origin authentication and integrity protection for DNS data, as well as a means of public key distribution. These extensions do not provide confidentiality.