.ch
| Top-level domain .ch | |
|---|---|
| introduction | May 20, 1987 |
| category | country-specific |
| Registry | SWITCH |
| Award | unrestricted |
| number | 2.23 million (as of August 15, 2019) |
.ch is the country-specific top-level domain (ccTLD) for Switzerland . It has existed since May 20, 1987 and is administered by the SWITCH organization. The abbreviation CH stands for the Latin name of Switzerland, Confoederatio Helvetica .
history
Bernhard Plattner brought the .ch domain to Switzerland in 1987. Shortly thereafter, he transferred it to the SWITCH Foundation , which was still in its infancy at the time. SWITCH was officially founded on October 22, 1987, from then on she was responsible for administering the .ch domain. After the SWITCH computing networks were set up and the universities were connected to the network, applications from companies began to be accepted. Private individuals were not intended. The first three registered Swiss Internet addresses were cern.ch , ethz.ch and switch.ch . In late 1991 the .ch address was entered in the 'Root DNS' and was thus, from now on, accessible from anywhere in the world. In 2001, OFCOM received the approval to assign .ch domains, since SWITCH is now subordinate to it, and it becomes the only registry in Switzerland. In 2002 the administration of .ch was nationalized.
properties
The first three registered Swiss Internet addresses were cern.ch , ethz.ch and switch.ch . A .ch domain can be between three and 63 characters long (with the exception of the official pages of the Swiss cantons with only two characters, which are the respective canton abbreviations), umlaut domains and other internationalized domain names are possible. For the registration, which usually takes 48 hours, private individuals and companies do not need a seat in Switzerland.
Since 2010 .ch domains infected with malware have been systematically switched off. Domain owners only have 24 hours to react and remove the malware themselves if they discover a problem. For some time now, the registry has expressly reserved the right to withdraw a domain if it is misused.
SWITCH has stopped issuing domains since January 1, 2015. In addition, old domains must be transferred to other providers.
criticism
The registration office SWITCH has long been criticized because it acted both as a domain registry and as a domain registrar . Numerous Swiss hosters have criticized this approach, as the in-house subsidiary switchplus would inevitably receive better conditions than the competition . The dispute resulted in numerous legal proceedings . The legal dispute over the role of switchplus was ended in September 2012 in favor of SWITCH.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Statistics. Development of the number of .ch domain names per quarter since 1995. SWITCH , accessed on September 8, 2019 (current .ch domain number).
- ↑ Delegation Record for .CH. IANA , accessed September 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Marco D'Alessandro: SWITCH is celebrating 25 years of .ch. April 26, 2012, Retrieved September 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Properties of a .ch domain. united-domains . Retrieved September 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Florian Hitzelberger: Swiss domain management is the top priority in combating malware. In: domain-right. August 14, 2012, accessed September 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Florian Hitzelberger: SWITCH is threatening domain withdrawal. In: domain-right. July 29, 2010, accessed September 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Hans Fischer: Switch ceases domain business - what now? In: TechnikBlog. July 23, 2014, accessed May 10, 2016 .
- ↑ Florian Hitzelberger: News from .ch, .se and .info. In: domain-right. October 13, 2009, accessed February 11, 2013 .
- ↑ Florian Hitzelberger: Switch wins legal dispute over Switchplus. In: domain-right. September 4, 2012, accessed August 19, 2016 .