Demand remains strong on second day of French landrush
On the second day of France’s 4-day landrush, AFNIC, the French NIC reports fewer registration requests. But there were less duplication errors than on the first day so actual registration numbers are expected to be higher.
Here are the numbers. On Tuesday, May 11, 2004, French companies and organizations were allowed to register any available name for the first time. Previously, the domain name had to match the company name so only about 180 000 names had been taken. The landrush period is being organised over 4 days to avoid server overload. On the first day, only names starting with a number or the letters a and b were accepted. 12 000 registration requests were received in the first minute after the opening and 45 700 requests in the first 12 minutes.
On Wednesday, names starting with the letters a-f were accepted. Registration started at exactly 9:00 a.m. AFNIC had received 6 531 requests by 9:01 and 38 610 in the first 12 minutes.
Fewer duplication errors
The raw numbers seem to indicate a slowing down, but a closer look shows a different picture. “We have much less duplication than yesterday” reported the press relations department at AFNIC. “On the first day, some of our registrars (note: AFNIC sells only through a network of approved registrars) had sent up to 50 duplicate requests for each name. We warned them that this would only overload our servers and, in fact, penalise the culprits.”
To ensure equal access to all, the system for the opening period had been designed by AFNIC to slow down high volume requests automatically.
Only 6 000 names on the first day
So registrars seem to have followed procedures better on this second day. “Of the approximately 50 000 requests received on the first day, only 6 000 (about 12%) seem to have been valid,” according to AFNIC. “But on the second day, although it is too early to tell for sure, we believe approximately half of the requests received will result in actual registrations.”
The .FR landrush continues all week. On Thursday, at 9:00 a.m. sharp, registration requests will be accepted for names starting with a-n. And Friday May 14, all remaining names will be accepted.
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