Blog: Anycast

MINDS + MACHINES SIGNS EXCLUSIVE ARRANGEMENT WITH COCCA — MOST WIDELY DEPLOYED OPEN-SOURCE REGISTRY PLATFORM FOR COUNTRY-CODE EXTENSIONS TO BE ADAPTED TO NEW TOP-LEVEL DOMAINS FROM ICANN

MEXICO CITY (March 1, 2009). Minds + Machines has been granted the rights to the CoCCA registry software and the CoCCA brand for generic top-level domains. Minds + Machines will enhance the core code and features for new top-level domains and brand the platform as “Espresso,” which will be available in both hosted and locally-installed versions. CoCCA’s highly-praised work with country-code extensions will continue to be developed and made available to members of CoCCA to manage a ccTLD registry as a royalty-free open-source package.

The exclusive arrangement will mean very low prices for Espresso customers. By adding any of Minds + Machines’ consulting and marketing services, or services from Minds + Machines partners, new TLD applicants will be able to work with Minds + Machines to build their TLD cost-effectively.

“I’ve been watching use of CoCCA explode in country-code top-level domains. They’ve been winning because of their superior technology, low prices, and customer-first way of doing business,” said Antony Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines. “After seeing that other registry offerings were expensive and confusing, I was convinced that a partnership with CoCCA was the solution. I am very pleased to be able to begin from this great open-source foundation.”

“We are delighted with the arrangement,” said Garth Miller, head of Cocca Registry Services (NZ) Limited, the entity responsible the for development of the CoCCATools software on behalf of CoCCA Members “because it provides additional funding resources that will ensure that our software meets the challenges posed by the deployment of IDN TLDs, DNSSEC and other technologies required by our members.”

Minds and Machines will develop the CoCCA code and provide relevant improvements back to the open-source CoCCA codebase.

“More TLDs currently operate directly on CoCCA’s code than any other registry service provider,” said Minds + Machines COO, Jothan Frakes. “It is written in Java and adheres to the RFCs for registration, resolution, and whois information, works with IDN, IPv6, and DNSSEC over Anycast for DNS resolution and is secure and standards-based. It adds ease and elegance to registry operations, can be configured in an afternoon, has an existing channel of major registrars who are already contractually and technically integrated, and can be configured to work with any currency or language.”

For more information, contact Elaine Pruis at elaine[at]mindsandmachines.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DOMAIN INDUSTRY LEADERS ANTONY VAN COUVERING, JOTHAN FRAKES AND ELAINE PRUIS LAUNCH “MINDS + MACHINES”—REGISTRY SERVICES COMPANY BASED ON COCCA PLATFORM WILL OFFER INEXPENSIVE, FULL-SERVICE SOLUTION FOR NEW TOP-LEVEL DOMAIN APPLICANTS.

MEXICO CITY (March 1, 2009). Domain name veterans Antony Van Couvering and Jothan Frakes announced today the formation of Minds + Machines, a domain name registry services company for new top-level domains (TLDs). Minds + Machines will offer full-service consulting (Minds) combined with Espresso, a top-tier domain registry software platform (Machines).

The Minds + Machines consulting solution extends from application to operations, and offers a full rebate of consulting fees from eventual registrations. Application preparation services, sales channel establishment, intellectual property protection (Sunrise Period) design, investment assistance, contention and objection resolution, staffing, ICANN liaison and other services will be offered. Minds + Machines has assembled a choice of best-of-breed partners into a complete registry package to make multiple vendors easy to manage. Auction services, DNS resolution, data escrow, trademark verification, design, and marketing partners are available to Minds + Machines clients, often at preferential rates.

Espresso, the Minds + Machines registry solution, is a cousin of CoCCA, the leading open-source solution used by dozens of country-code top-level domains and all the top ICANN registrars. Espresso extends the robust CoCCA platform to make it available to communities, organizations and entrepreneurs seeking to apply for a new top-level domain from ICANN.

“We’re cheaper, quicker, easier, stronger, and complete, as suggested by the Espresso brand,” said Van Couvering, CEO of Minds + Machines. “After looking at all the current registry solutions, we saw a real opportunity to provide a better service. The combination of our consulting model, layered into CoCCA, which is a very inexpensive open-source software with a proven track record, is a key differentiator.”

Espresso is available as a hosted or locally-installed solution, and is customizable to any TLD business model. Espresso features an inexpensive flat “per registration” fee, with no setup fees and no lock-in. For corporations who envision just a few registrations, Minds + Machines offers an inexpensive setup fee and a low flat annual fee.

Minds + Machines has signed an exclusive agreement with CoCCA to provide Espresso to gTLDs, while CoCCA will continue to provide services to country-code TLDs. “We are thrilled that Antony, Jothan and Elaine are extending the CoCCA platform to the gTLD space by introducing Espresso,” said Garth Miller, CEO of CoCCA Tools. “This company launch will provide gTLDs applicants of all types and sizes an inexpensive and reliable alternative to existing legacy registry service operators.”

Espresso is fully compliant with ICANN requirements and has been thoroughly field-tested by over 20 currently-operating TLDs. “The Espresso platform fully supports key Internet standards related to registry operations, such as registration, resolution, and WhoIs, and works with important new standards like DNSSEC, IPv6, and IDN. The code is elegant. It is written in Java, can support any unicode language, is compatible with all major currencies, and can work with any of the anycast DNS providers,” says Jothan Frakes, Minds + Machines COO. “CoCCa, Espresso’s cousin, is in use today by more root-listed TLDs than any other software, and has most of the planet’s registrars already integrated to our EPP API, so new TLDs added to Espresso benefit from the large base of current registrars. This means they can go to market quicker because the registrars have already done the technical integration.”

Contact: Antony Van Couvering at avc[at]mindsandmachines.com