Register a namespace before assigning real names
07URN namespaces are managed too. Registration records the naming contract, rather than making any urn-looking string a valid assigned name.
A new formal NID beginning X- conflicts with the prohibition. Stop before registration; the removed experimental category does not authorize arbitrary real URNs.
Source for this drawing: RFC 8141 · Read RFC section 6 ↗
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A message needs an address.
Think of a packet as a small addressed envelope. Devices pass it onward; transport protocols decide what delivery promises an application gets.
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Related RFCs and changes
“Updates” changes part of an earlier RFC. “Obsoletes” replaces it. This list shows selected related documents.
A namespace registration is different from assigning an NSS within it.
- For a new formal registration, the proposed NID MUST NOT already be registered; it MUST be longer than two characters and MUST NOT start with urn-, X-, or two letters followed by a hyphen. Generic NID syntax is necessary but insufficient.
- Informal namespaces are full-fledged registered namespaces. IANA assigns urn- followed by a positive decimal number without leading zeros, within the 32-character NID limit; the applicant does not pick that number.
- The community path uses a completed template, discussion and Expert Review; anticipated standardization adds standards-body direction. A separate recognized-body fast track is available. Registration MUST state known interoperability issues and whether resolution is intended.
This chapter summarizes RFC 8141’s process rather than current IANA queue contents or an application form. It does not submit a registration, contact anyone, invent an experimental X- namespace, or imply expert review is always the fast-track authority. The full template and exceptions remain in §§6.2–6.4/Appendix A.
Read the RFC section ↗