We’re pleased to welcome Tucows Domains as a new Bronze Tier member of DNS-OARC.

Tucows Domains is the world’s largest wholesale domain platform, managing over 24 million domains through a global network of 35,000+ resellers. Its wholesale brands — OpenSRS, Enom, and Ascio — power white-label solutions for web hosts, digital agencies, and website builders worldwide, while Hover supports a thriving retail customer base. Tucows Registry Services delivers advanced backend infrastructure and expert operational support, enabling registry operators to launch, scale, and manage domain portfolios with confidence.

DNS-OARC (the Domain Name System Operations, Analysis, and Research Center) is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to improving the security, stability, and understanding of the Internet’s DNS infrastructure. It brings together DNS operators, implementers, and researchers to share data and information and coordinate response to incidents affecting the global DNS, and learn together during its twice yearly workshops.

As Tucows Domains shared:

“We’re thrilled to join DNS-OARC as a new member. What drew us here is a shared commitment to the stability, security, and resilience of the DNS ecosystem — and we’re excited to contribute to the research, collaboration, and operational excellence this community is known for. There’s a lot we look forward to learning and building together.”

The DNS-OARC community is pleased to welcome Tucows Domains as a Bronze Member. Tucows Domains’ membership helps further DNS-OARC’s mission, and we look forward to their participation at our events and on our platforms, bringing their operational expertise and knowledge to the table, for the benefit of the DNS ecosystem. By joining DNS-OARC, Tucows Domains also gains access to a trusted community of DNS experts — those who develop, maintain and study the Internet’s global DNS.

OARC 46 has officially wrapped, and we want to thank everyone who joined us in Edinburgh and remotely for two days of DNS operations, research, measurement, security, and community discussion.

Held at the EICC in Edinburgh on May 16–17, 2026, OARC 46 brought together the global DNS community for technical presentations, operational lessons learned, hallway conversations, and the kind of practical knowledge-sharing that makes OARC workshops so valuable.

In this wrap-up

- OARC 46 by the Numbers
- Programme Highlights
- Community and Hallway Track
- Thank You to Our Speakers, PC, Sponsors, and Volunteers
- Attendee Survey
- Recordings and Materials
- Looking Ahead to OARC 47

OARC 46 by the Numbers

This year, OARC 46 welcomed 180 total attendees, including 158 in-person attendees in Edinburgh and 22 remote attendees joining online.

The workshop brought together participants from 91 represented organizations across 29 countries, highlighting the continued global reach of the DNS-OARC community.

We were also pleased to welcome 36 first-time attendees to OARC 46. Thank you to the 21 mentors who volunteered their time and experience to help new attendees connect with the community. Approximately 26 attendees joined us for the Mentor Mingle, helping start the workshop with conversation, introductions, and a welcoming space for first-time participants.

Programme Highlights

The OARC 46 programme covered a wide range of topics across DNS operations, DNSSEC, measurement, privacy, automation, security, and infrastructure resilience.

Several talks received especially strong attendee feedback, including:

• Parent vs. Child-Centric Resolver Interoperability Testing— Petr Špaček
• Measuring Anycast Routing — Remi Hendriks
• Bitflipping root-servers.net— Peter Thomassen
• Another Man’s Treasure: Security and Privacy Risks of Junk DNS Queries — Elizabeth Boswell
• RootViz: visualizing real-time monitoring of Root and TLD servers— Giovane Moura
• DNSSEC at Scale: Enable Signing Across 5500 Domains in the Real World — Jens Hoffrichter

These sessions reflected the breadth of the OARC 46 programme, from resolver interoperability and anycast measurement to DNSSEC operations, root infrastructure, visualization, and security/privacy research.

The Day 2 lightning talks also gave attendees a fast-paced look at timely operational topics, with especially strong feedback for Brace for Upgrades — Plural, Tracing and DNS, and Cross-addressed Nameservers.

Together, the sessions highlighted the practical, operational, and research-focused work happening across the DNS community, as well as the value of bringing operators, researchers, developers, and infrastructure providers together in the same room.

Community and Hallway Track

As always, the workshop was about more than the formal programme. The conversations between sessions, during breaks, and at the social event are a core part of what makes DNS-OARC valuable.

OARC 46 included several opportunities for attendees to connect in person, including the Mentor Mingle hosted at Tigerlily Edinburgh, informal discussions throughout the workshop, and the OARC 46 social at The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant.

We were also encouraged to see continued growth in the number of women attending OARC workshops. At OARC 46, 18 women attendees gathered for a group photo, a small but meaningful reflection of the broader participation and community-building we hope to continue strengthening at future workshops.

Thank you to everyone who helped make first-time attendees feel welcome, supported new connections, and contributed to the open, collaborative spirit of the event.

Thank You to Our Speakers, PC, Sponsors, and Volunteers

OARC workshops are only possible because of the time and effort contributed by many people across the community.

Thank you to our speakers for sharing their work, operational experiences, and research. Thank you to the Programme Committee for reviewing submissions and shaping the agenda. Thank you to our session chairs, mentors, volunteers, staff, and attendees for helping the event run smoothly.

We would also like to thank our OARC 46 sponsors and patrons for their support of the workshop and the broader DNS-OARC mission.

Attendee Survey

If you attended OARC 46, please take a few minutes to complete the attendee survey:

OARC 46 Survey Link

Your feedback helps the OARC team, Programme Committee, and Board understand what worked well and where we can improve future workshops. We read the responses carefully and use them in our planning.

Recordings and Materials

Slides and recordings will be made available as they are finalized.

Workshop recordings will be published on the DNS-OARC YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@DNSOARC/

Looking Ahead to OARC 47

Whether you joined us in Edinburgh or followed along remotely, thank you for being part of OARC 46. The workshop is strongest when the community shows up, shares openly, asks good questions, and helps move DNS operations and research forward together.

Next, we look forward to seeing the community in Vancouver, British Columbia for our next workshop, OARC 47 taking place November 9–10, 2026.

We are looking forward to welcoming the DNS community for two days of technical presentations, operational discussion, and community connection. Whether you are joining us in person or following along remotely, the workshop programme brings together researchers, operators, developers, and others working across the DNS ecosystem.

The full programme is available on the OARC 46 event page, including the detailed timetable, speaker information, and presentation schedule.

Attendee reminders

For those joining us in Edinburgh, the main workshop programme will take place in the Lomond Suite at EICC. We will hold registration, breaks, and lunches in Strathblane Hall on the same floor, near the main entrance.

Attendees can also find practical event information on the OARC 46 Useful Information page, including venue details, Wi-Fi information, QR codes, delegate discounts, and the EICC accessibility guide.

A small number of in-person tickets are still available, and remote registration remains open. Our team has already submitted the final catering details, so we will do our best to accommodate anyone signing up late for in-person registration.

Lightning talks

We will be accepting a limited number of lightning talk submissions for Day 2, Session 4. This will be for in-person presentations only.

The lightning talk submission window will be open on Saturday, 16 May, from 10:00–17:00 BST / 09:00–16:00 UTC. We will accept up to five in-person lightning presentations. Each lightning talk will be five minutes long, with no live Q&A period.

Lightning talk topics must be related to DNS, and accepted talks will be broadcast live and recorded as part of the workshop. More information is available on the event website.

Follow along

Remote attendees and community members can follow the workshop through the live stream and the Mattermost “Workshops” channel. We will prepare and publish presentation slides and recordings for future reference once they are edited.

We encourage attendees to join the conversation in Mattermost, connect with others during breaks, and take part in the hallway track throughout the workshop.

Thank you to the DNS-OARC community

OARC 46 would not be possible without the support of our sponsors, patrons, members, volunteers, Programme Committee, speakers, and community participants.

Thank you for helping make this workshop possible.

We look forward to seeing everyone in Edinburgh.

Palo Alto Networks Joins DNS-OARC as a Platinum Member

By Phil Regnauld and Srinivas Avasarala

Palo Alto Networks recently joined the DNS-OARC community as a Platinum Member. Together, our organizations share a commitment to advancing collaboration in research and operational excellence across the global DNS ecosystem. DNS is critical to both internet infrastructure and security, and this collaboration facilitates the sharing of real-world insights among researchers and practitioners.

Palo Alto Networks Contribution

Palo Alto Networks helps organizations secure their digital environment with a comprehensive portfolio of cybersecurity solutions spanning Network, Cloud, Security Operations, AI and Identity. Trusted by more than 70,000 customers worldwide and informed by Unit 42® Threat Intelligence, their AI-driven platforms help organizations reduce complexity, modernize with confidence, and securely enable innovation.

As a Platinum Member, Palo Alto Networks will actively participate in the DNS-OARC community by engaging in discussions and contributing to research on evolving DNS threats and network challenges. The growing intersection of DNS and security makes access to intelligence and experience increasingly important. It strengthens the community’s ability to respond to emerging challenges and improves resilience across the internet.

Through Palo Alto Networks participation, their customers will gain stronger protection informed by community-driven intelligence and real-world operational insight. These learnings are continuously integrated into their threat intelligence and security capabilities. Their participation signals their support for DNS-OARC’s mission of fostering open dialogue and shared learning across the DNS ecosystem. This collaboration helps bridge DNS operations with broader security practices, improving coordination between operators, researchers and security practitioners.

Palo Alto Networks Commitment to DNS-OARC and Global Communities

Collaboration between our organizations strengthens the connection among DNS operations and modern security practices by bringing together operational insight and a global community dedicated to advancing the internet’s resilience.

For the DNS-OARC community, the commitment enhances knowledge sharing around evolving DNS threats, large-scale network operations and practical approaches to emerging challenges.

For organizations and customers, it reinforces a stronger alignment between DNS infrastructure and security, expands access to community-driven intelligence and supports more resilient, well-informed defenses.

Tong Zhao, Senior Manager of DNS Security Engineering, Palo Alto Networks:

We recognize the critical role of DNS-OARC in DNS operations and research. The teams from Palo Alto Networks believe that our DNS-OARC membership aligns perfectly with our goals. We are eager to participate in and contribute to the DNS community.

The partnership with DNS-OARC highlights the value of open collaboration in helping both the community and its participants stay ahead of an increasingly complex threat landscape. To learn more about how Palo Alto Networks expertise and insights support DNS-OARC’s mission to improve the security and stability of the internet’s DNS, visit DNS-OARC.

Of 46 eligible voters, 45 cast ballots (with 45 valid and 1 empty). Seven candidates stood for three open Board seats.

We’re delighted to welcome Alex Band of NLnet Labs and Dave Knight of DigiCert to the DNS-OARC Board of Directors, and to congratulate Jake Zack of CIRA on his reappointment for another two-year term.

At its reconstitution meeting on October 14, the new Board confirmed:

• Joe Abley (Cloudflare) — Chair
• Ray Bellis (ISC)— Treasurer
• Jake Zack (CIRA) — Programme Committee Liaison

Our sincere thanks go to Benno Overeinder and Joao Damas for their longstanding service on the Board, and to Pallavi Aras, Babak Farrokhi, Swapneel Sheth, and Ralf Weber for their candidacies and contributions to this election.

Meet the 2025–2027 Board Members

Alex Band — Director of Product Development, NLnet Labs

Alex brings nearly 30 years of experience in the Internet industry, spanning technical training, product management, and open-source leadership. His work at NLnet Labs has helped broaden the organization’s mission to include routing solutions and advance its transition to Rust, strengthening the future of Internet infrastructure.

Dave Knight — Senior Director of DNS Operations, DigiCert

A long-time DNS-OARC contributor, Dave has participated since its inception — helping build early infrastructure, leading webcasts, and serving on both the Program Committee and the Board. His extensive DNS operations experience includes roles at Dyn, ICANN, Afilias, ISC, and RIPE NCC.

Jake Zack — DNS Architect, CIRA (.CA)

Re-elected to a second term, Jake continues to bring valuable insight and continuity to OARC’s governance, following two previous terms on the Program Committee. He remains dedicated to OARC’s mission of fostering collaboration across DNS operations, research, and development.

We look forward to their leadership and continued contributions to the DNS-OARC community.

Interested in getting involved? We are seeking new volunteers for the 2026 Programme Committee (OARC 46 & 47). Please email pc2026@dns-oarc.net by November 7 if you’d like to be considered.

DNS Week

This year, OARC 45 is part of a broader DNS Week — a full calendar of events bringing together the global DNS community in one place:

DNS Week Schedule (October 1–9):

• Oct 1–2: CENTR R&D Workshop
• Oct 4–5: Internetstiftelsen Hackathon 2025, in proud collaboration with DNS-OARC and Netnod
• Oct 6: OARC Community Sessions (Limited space is available — courtesy of Internetstiftelsen — for community-led meetings. If you’d like to reserve a slot to connect with peers or working groups while everyone is in town, please contact meeting@dns-oarc.net. )
• Oct 6: (evening): Mentor Mingle for New Attendees
• Oct 7: Day 1 OARC 45 Workshop
• Oct 7 (evening): OARC 45 Social
• Oct 8: Day 2 OARC 45 Workshop
• Oct 8: OARC Members-Only Annual Meeting (following the workshop)
• Oct 8 (evening): Joint Netnod + DNS-OARC Social (TBC)
• Oct 9: Netnod Tech Meeting 2025, 20th Anniversary

In this blog

• Registration Information
• Agenda Highlights
• Lightning Presentations
• First Time Attendee Mentor Mingle
• OARC 45 Social
• OARC on Social Media
• Supporting DNS-OARC Workshops

Registration Information

Registration for OARC 45 is open! OARC workshops bring together key players in DNS operations, analysis, and research to share insights, challenges, and the latest technical developments.

👉 Visit the OARC 45 event page for full details on fees and registration instructions.

⚠️ Note: We are coming close to selling out of in-person tickets for OARC 45. If you plan to join us in Stockholm, we strongly encourage you to register as soon as possible to secure your spot.

Please note: all registrations are non-transferable.

Agenda Highlights

The timetable for OARC 45 is now published!

This year’s program includes a wide range of talks, research presentations, and community-driven discussions — along with a keynote session by Mikael Kullberg introducing DNS TAPIR, a Swedish national DNS query analysis platform. Built on four guiding principles with privacy at its core, DNS TAPIR provides monitoring, alerting on suspicious events, and open-source transparency. This keynote will outline the project’s pillars and give an update on its progress and availability.

👉 Visit https://www.dns-oarc.net/oarc45 to view the full timetable.

Lightning Presentations

The Call for Presentations (CFP) for lightning talks will open on Day 1 of OARC 45.

• Submission window:
   — Opens: October 7th, 2025 at 00:00 UTC (10:00 local time)
   — Closes: October 7th, 2025 at 15:00 UTC (17:00 local time)

Lightning presentations are short-format talks of 5–10 minutes each, and time will be available in the program for these contributions on Day 2 of the workshop.

👉 Details on how to submit will be announced at the start of the workshop.

First Time Attendee Mentor Mingle

To help welcome newcomers to the OARC community, we’re hosting a First Time Attendee Mentor Mingle on Monday, October 6th, 2025.

This event is for participants who RSVP’d after expressing interest in either being a mentor or being paired as a first-time attendee seeking guidance. Invitations and details have been emailed directly to those who signed up.

It’s a great opportunity to meet fellow attendees before the workshop, share experiences, and make connections in a relaxed setting.

OARC 45 Social

The OARC 45 Social will take place on the evening of October 7th, 2025 at the Quality Hotel Globe (the same venue as OARC 45).

Enjoy drinks and appetizers while catching up with colleagues. The social is open to all registered OARC 45 attendees, but advance registration is required due to limited space.

• Book by: October 7, 2025 at 17:00 CEST
• Register here: https://oarc45-social.eventbrite.com

Please note:

• Have your QR code(s) ready for scanning at the entrance.
• +1 guests require a purchased ticket.
• OARC 45 attendee badge must be worn.

Spread the Word

Help us spread the word about OARC 45 by sharing this post with your colleagues and friends. If you’re posting on social media, use the hashtags #OARC45 and #LoveDNS.

Follow DNS-OARC on:

• Mastodns: @dnsoarc@mastodns.net
• LinkedIn: DNS-OARC
• YouTube: @dnsoarc
• https://linktr.ee/dnsoarc

Supporting DNS-OARC Workshops

DNS-OARC is a non-profit, membership organization dedicated to improving the security, stability, and understanding of the Internet’s DNS infrastructure. Our workshops, open to OARC members and the wider community, are a key part of this mission.

Community contributions and sponsorships help us keep these events accessible and sustainable. With in-person tickets for OARC 45 close to selling out, additional support could enable us to accommodate more participants and expand opportunities for engagement.

1. Sponsoring OARC 45 — contact sponsor@dns-oarc.net
2. Annual Workshop Patronage for 2025
3. Making a donation
4. Adding an extra contribution during your registration by selecting both your “Registration” and the “A Little Extra” options on the registration page

The DNS-OARC Programme Committee would like to remind the DNS community that the Call for Contributions for OARC 45 is currently open. This hybrid workshop will take place 7–8 October 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden, directly ahead of the Netnod Tech Meeting 2025.

We welcome presentation proposals covering all DNS-related subjects — especially those that highlight operational insights, security practices, measurement results, protocol developments, and real-world lessons learned. Both newcomers and long-time contributors to the DNS ecosystem are encouraged to submit.

📌 Submission Deadline: 29 July 2025 at 23:59 UTC
🔗 Submit a Proposal

Why Stockholm?

Stockholm is not only a historic and scenic capital but also a major hub for internet infrastructure and DNS activity in the Nordics. Hosting OARC 45 in Stockholm offers a valuable opportunity to engage not only with the DNS-OARC community but also with the broader European DNS and networking community.

OARC 45 will gather DNS operators, researchers, and implementers for two days of technical presentations and discussion. Submissions are welcome from across the community, whether they present large-scale studies or practical operational experiences.

We hope to open registration by early to mid-June — stay tuned!

A Valuable Addition to the DNS-OARC Community

DNS-OARC is pleased to welcome it.com Domains as our newest Blue Member. Their addition strengthens the diversity and depth of our community, bringing fresh insights and expertise that will benefit ongoing DNS operations and research efforts.

it.com Domains manages the it.com domain extension (GET.it.com) and delivers state-of-the-art registry backend services (RSP.it.com). As a private venture evolved from Intis Telecom — a leader in international business messaging via the cloud — it.com Domains is building its robust foundation in the domain industry, with a team comprised of seasoned subject matter experts.

With over 40,000 domains under management and availability through major registrars such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, GNAME, Dynadot, and GMO, it.com Domains brings real-world operational experience at scale.

We look forward to collaborating with the it.com Domains team as they engage with the DNS-OARC community. Their perspective as both a registry operator and a technology provider will be valuable in shaping discussions, sharing lessons learned, and advancing best practices across the DNS ecosystem.

Welcome to DNS-OARC, it.com Domains — we’re excited to work together.

DNS-OARC is delighted to welcome YIAN as our newest Blue Member. As a leader in internet intelligence with a deep understanding of the Chinese and broader Asian digital landscapes, YIAN brings invaluable regional insights to our global community.

Specializing in combating cyber threats such as phishing, fraud, and cyberattacks, YIAN employs advanced big data analytics to detect and mitigate malicious activities. Their commitment to cybersecurity aligns seamlessly with DNS-OARC’s mission to enhance the security and stability of the DNS infrastructure.

YIAN’s expertise in the Asian cyber threat environment offers a unique perspective that will enrich our collective efforts in DNS research and operations. We look forward to their active participation and the collaborative opportunities that lie ahead.

Welcome to DNS-OARC, YIAN!

We are pleased to welcome p-square GmbH as the newest Blue Member of DNS-OARC.

Based in Bochum, Germany, p-square is an IT service and consulting company specializing in DNS, DHCP, IPAM, network automation, and cloud solutions. Since its founding in 2004, p-square has grown into a trusted partner for businesses in the manufacturing and sports industries, providing consulting, implementation, and managed services.

Their expertise in network infrastructure and automation aligns with DNS-OARC’s mission to enhance the stability and security of the DNS ecosystem. As Jens Hoffrichter, Managing Director of p-square, notes:

“The DNS Operations Analysis and Research Center is a central platform for professional exchange around DNS operations, security, and research. Membership gives us direct access to current developments, valuable analytics, and a strong network of DNS experts worldwide. The exchange with the community and active participation in our cooperation are important to us to develop DNS technologies and make them future-proof. We look forward to exciting discussions, workshops, and cooperation!”

We look forward to p-square’s contributions and collaboration within our community!

🔗 Learn more about p-square: https://www.p-square.digital/