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Internet Systems Consortium
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<h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>Originally the company was founded as the Internet Software Consortium, Inc. The founders included <a href="/facts/Paul_Vixie/wsagrYzy">Paul Vixie</a>, <a href="/facts/Rick_Adams_(Internet_pioneer)/QDXezGAM">Rick Adams</a> and <a href="/facts/Carl_Malamud/4GAgQ7Uj">Carl Malamud</a>. The corporation was intended to continue the development of <a href="/facts/BIND/Mj5qNIuW">BIND</a> software. The founders believed that it was necessary that BIND's maintenance and development be managed and funded by an independent organization. ISC was designated as a root name server operator by <a href="/facts/Internet_Assigned_Numbers_Authority/b6MlP6zQ">IANA</a>, originally as NS.ISC.ORG and later as F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET. </p><p>In January 2004, ISC reorganized under the new name Internet Systems Consortium, Inc.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p><p>In July 2013, ISC spun off the Security Business Unit to <a href="https://www.farsightsecurity.com">Farsight Security, Inc.</a> a new company started by ISC founder Paul Vixie.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>In early 2020, ISC closed its headquarters in Redwood City, California and moved its operations to Newmarket, New Hampshire.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="open-source">Open Source</h2> <p>ISC develops and maintains open source networking software, including <a href="/facts/BIND/Mj5qNIuW">BIND</a> and two <a href="/facts/Dynamic_Host_Configuration_Protocol/lpASHnhz">DHCP</a> implementations: <a href="/facts/DHCPD/cX8j9RRz">ISC DHCP</a> and <a href="/facts/Kea_(software)/KTw1bdzF">Kea DHCP</a>. ISC also distributes <a href="/facts/InterNetNews/LrKsDuvy">INN</a> and several older, unmaintained projects.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> Some early aspects of its software were developed by developers that were commercially employed by Nominum, amongst others.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="isc-license">ISC license</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/ISC_license/JBUVCH3l">ISC license</a></p> <p>ISC developed and used the <a href="/facts/ISC_license/JBUVCH3l">ISC license</a>, which is functionally similar to the <a href="/facts/BSD_licenses/XLtmLp5x">simplified BSD</a> and <a href="/facts/MIT_license/8llAQtlk">MIT</a> licenses. The ISC license is <a href="/facts/OpenBSD/xmPS9tek">OpenBSD</a>'s preferred license for new code.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>All current versions of ISC-hosted software are available under the Mozilla Public License 2.0.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="dns-root-server">DNS root server</h2> <p>ISC operates the <a href="/facts/Domain_name_system/rfxdWFsj">DNS</a> "F" root server,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> the first such server to be distributed using <a href="/facts/Anycast/d6lUjbno">anycast</a>. In 2007 it was announced that ISC and <a href="/facts/ICANN/2EHgcUU1">ICANN</a> would sign an agreement regarding the operation of F, the first such agreement made between ICANN and a root-server operator.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="usenet-moderators-list">Usenet moderators list</h2> <p>ISC maintains and publishes (on ftp.isc.org) the central <a href="/facts/Usenet/lYJWFBR6">Usenet</a> <a href="/facts/Forum_moderator/bRuqfQfN">moderators</a> list and relays for moderated groups, so individual server operators don't have to track moderator changes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="internet-domain-survey">Internet Domain Survey</h2> <p>The Internet Domain Survey searched the <a href="/facts/Domain_name_system/rfxdWFsj">Domain Name System</a> (DNS) to discover every Internet host. The survey began when only a few hundred hosts were Internet-linked.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> The earliest published reports, dated 1993, were performed by Network Wizards owner Mark K. Lottor. The Internet host count was 1313000 in January 1993 and 1062660523 in the January 2017 survey.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a> </p><p>ISC ended its sponsorship and publication of the <a href="https://www.isc.org/survey/">Internet Domain Survey</a> in 2019.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Open_Source_Applications_Foundation/okSvuMpe">Open Source Applications Foundation</a> (OSAF)</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://www.isc.org">ISC</a> Official site</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"The History of ISC". Internet Systems Consortium. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://www.isc.org/about/" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/about/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Internal Revenue Service (2007-12-15). "501(c)(3) exemption letter". Internet Systems Consortium. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2009-04-11. <a href="/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service" target="_blank">/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"F-Root". Internet Systems Consortium. 10 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://www.isc.org/f-root/" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/f-root/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Milestone Agreement Reached Between ICANN, and F Root Server Operator, Internet Systems Consortium". ICANN. Archived from the original on 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2008-01-04-en" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2008-01-04-en</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"IETF Standards Written by ISC Contributors". Internet Systems Consortium. ISC. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2020. <a href="https://www.isc.org/rfcs/" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/rfcs/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"2019 ISC Annual Report" (PDF). ISC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-10-01. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20201001122720/https://www.isc.org/docs/2019ISCannualreportfinal.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20201001122720/https://www.isc.org/docs/2019ISCannualreportfinal.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"ISC Mission". Internet Systems Consortium. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://www.isc.org/mission" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/mission</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"ISC Spins Off Its Security Business Unit". Internet Systems Consortium. 2 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://www.isc.org/blogs/isc-spins-off-its-security-business-unit/" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/blogs/isc-spins-off-its-security-business-unit/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"ISC 2019 Year in Review". Internet Systems Consortium. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020. <a href="https://www.isc.org/blogs/2019-in-review/" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/blogs/2019-in-review/</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"The History of ISC". Internet Systems Consortium. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://www.isc.org/about/" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/about/</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Nominum Inc history". Archived from the original on 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2008-12-04. David Conrad founded Nominum in 1999 to develop BIND9 and ISC DHCP3 for the Internet Software Consortium <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081220151140/http://www.nominum.com/company/history.php" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20081220151140/http://www.nominum.com/company/history.php</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"OpenBSD: Copyright Policy". openbsd.org. Retrieved 5 March 2024. <a href="https://www.openbsd.org/policy.html" target="_blank">https://www.openbsd.org/policy.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"ISC Software Licenses". Internet Systems Consortium. Archived from the original on 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020. <a href="https://isc.org/licenses" target="_blank">https://isc.org/licenses</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"The History of ISC". Internet Systems Consortium. Archived from the original on 2020-10-20. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://www.isc.org/about/" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/about/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Milestone Agreement Reached Between ICANN, and F Root Server Operator, Internet Systems Consortium". ICANN. Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2020-09-14. <a href="https://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-04jan08.htm" target="_blank">https://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-04jan08.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Usenet Hierarchy FAQ Section 4. <a href="http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html#S4" target="_blank">http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/faqs/usenet-hier.html#S4</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"ISC Internet Domain Survey". Internet Systems Consortium. Archived from the original on 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2009-04-11. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081117190806/https://www.isc.org/solutions/survey" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20081117190806/https://www.isc.org/solutions/survey</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"Internet Domain Survey, January 2017". Internet Systems Consortium. Archived from the original on 2024-06-25. Retrieved 2017-02-14. <a href="http://ftp.isc.org/www/survey/reports/current/" target="_blank">http://ftp.isc.org/www/survey/reports/current/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"ISC ends Internet Domain Survey". Internet Systems Consortium. 26 August 2019. Archived from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 14 September 2020. <a href="https://www.isc.org/blogs/domain-survey-ends/" target="_blank">https://www.isc.org/blogs/domain-survey-ends/</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>