Services

IIT provides three services. The first is the Italian Registry of .it domain names. All the costs of this activity are supported by external funds. The other two services are provided for the National Research Council of Pisa (Management of telematics network) and for IIT-CNR (Internal services). The costs for these activities are supported by IIT.

The three services are as follows.

.it REGISTRY
Head: Domenico Laforenza (domenico.laforenza@iit.cnr.it)

The .it Registry (hereafter, the Registry) is the body responsible for managing dot it Internet domains (.it is the country code Top Level Domain associated with Italy, in accordance with ISO 3166). It also maintains the database of all domain names registered and manages the .it primary nameserver. The Registry operates under the Institute of Informatics and Telematics of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). Since December 1987 with the birth of cnr.it (the first domain of the Italian network) it has been responsible for all activities relating to the registration and maintenance of .it domain names. Its powers were delegated to it by supranational body IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, today ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), which assigns IP addresses at an international level and manages DNS operations.

- Assigning and maintaining .it domains is on a national and European level -
The Registry operates in direct contact with about 2,300 Italian and foreign operators that have an active contract (i.e. Maintainers or Registrars). The registration of .it domains is open to all citizens aged over 18 in the European Union. In June 2010 there were nearly two million active domains. This puts the Italian Registry ninth in the top ten Country Codes and fifth in Europe. With the exception of the Italian Registry, no other registration body of this size has the ISO9001-2008 certification.
The procedures for registering domain names under the ccTLD.it are designed to be fair and transparent and to give equal access for all users. The rules are codified in the Rules of assignment and management of domain names, the text of which is subject to regular review on the initiative of the Registry and the Rules Committee (the advisory body to the Registry which formulates the rules and technical procedures for the allocation and management of domain names under ccTLD.it). Any change, regulatory or procedural, is taken as part of a process of agreement between the parties, encouraging free competition among business operators and maintaining the Italian Country Code Top Level Domain registration and maintenance costs extremely low.

The Registry works closely with the Ministry of Economic Development, by controlling the registration of domain names in accordance with art. 15, paragraph 1 of the Electronic Communications Code. The registration service and management of domain names in the .it ccTLD has been characterized over the years by the increasingly massive spread of the Internet and the consequent growth in the number of new registrations. In this context, the Registry has gradually scaled up its operational structure to changing workloads and, correspondingly, has updated its regulatory and technology tools in line with the new business-oriented market. The technology is very complex and is inextricably linked to the integrity of the communication network and up to date technical operation standards. Within the Registry, technical activities, projects and applied research are carried out in synergy, which is necessary in order to keep up the high performance in providing a service that has come to achieve a national and international significance. The management of the Registry is not limited to technical and operational activities. As it is a public body, it also takes into account aspects relating to administration, regulations, growth and stability, equal access and fair treatment of users and operators in the market, and the interaction and communication with all stakeholders.

By its very nature, the Registry also plays an important role at an international level in the development of the Domain Name System and related policies. The Registry is an active member of the following organizations: ICANN, CENTR (Council of European National Top-Level Domain Registries) and RIPE (Reseaux IP Europeenne).
Because of the unusual nature of the mixed service, technological development and applied research and the vital contribution in terms of financial value, which is very different from the usual research contracts, the activities of the Registry have been placed its activities directly under the ICT Department of the CNR.

- Organization -
The current organization of the Registry includes a director (Domenico Laforenza, who is also director of the Institute and is head of the activity "Registration of domain names") and a Management Committee (made up of the director along with Maurizio Martinelli, Rita Rossi, Anna Vaccarelli, and Daniele Vannozzi, who are the managers of the various units that are part of the Registry, identified with the relevant forms of each activity). The Management Committee is responsible for assisting the Director in defining the organization of the Registry and also in the financial management of the Registry, both for the use of Registry resources and for those resources made available by external entities, in regulatory activities and policies of conduct. The Management Committee works with the management in defining Registry policies, preparing Regulations and Guidelines, and maintaining relations with the Rules Committee. The Management Committee assesses the management and administrative issues arising out of the Registry's activities. It also examines and comments on the budgets and final accounts arising from Registry contracts, which are prepared by the IIT's Administrative Office. At year end, the Management Committee examines the budgets and final accounts, and then plans activities for the following year. It defines and updates the annual work plan of the Registry, stating the objectives both in form and content, and examines the annual communication plan. It oversees the management of human resources and comments on the employment of new staff. Another of its tasks is to review proposals for advanced training put forward by the heads of units and assesses the financial aspects.
It expresses its views, including financial issues, on the proposed organization of events put forward by unit leaders or project managers. It assesses and defines the modalities of interaction in international organizations where the Registry is involved. It agrees on the line to follow and prepares the documentation to be presented at the annual meeting with Maintainers / Registrars. It cooperates in solving various problems regarding management and contracts resulting from the Registry's activities. Finally, it makes proposals for investment in equipment and personnel, and proposes setting up new projects relating to the Registry's activities.

As already mentioned, the Registry is assisted in defining the rules by the Rules Committee which was set up in 2001 as an advisory body to the Registry. The Committee formulates the rules and technical procedures for the allocation and management of domain names under the ccTLD.it in line with technical developments both in and outside Italy. The Committee operates through its rules and has members from the Registry, the LIC (Local Internet Community), Maintainer and Registrar of Associations, and the Ministry of Economic Development department in its role as a watchdog.
The Registry consists of five units headed by the Directorate which correspond to the five activity forms. The International Relations Unit is under the direct responsibility of the Director, Domenico Laforenza.

The Directorate oversees all activities. These include the preparation and updating of the annual work plan, decisions on contingent situations on domain names and the implementation of new rules and procedures, proposals for investments in equipment and personnel, establishment of new project proposals for both internal and external training, and the organization of public events (conferences, symposia, seminars, annual meetings with Maintainers and Registrars, etc.).
The Directorate is also responsible for coordinating activities related to the Registry, that are carried out in cooperation with the Administrative Office (contracts, billing, budgets and final accounts arising from contracts) and the Technical Services (computer services and basic infrastructure network, integrated fax-email-web, etc.) of the Institute of Informatics and Telematics. Finally, the Director directly oversees all relations with the Ministry of Economic Development, with the Civil Service, and with national and international organizations.

Operations Unit - carries out its main tasks in the asynchronous registration system. It defines the technical procedures for registration, and updates all the archives regarding domain names. The work is done in line with "The rules of assignment and management of domain names in the ccTLD.it" and the principles of fairness and equal access to the service set up by ICANN.
In particular, the Operations Unit is responsible for managing letters of acceptance of responsibility (LARs), domain name registration, management of other transactions regarding domain names assigned under ccTLD.it (change of maintainer, modification of the assignee of domain name, deletions and changes), geographical domains, no-providers, and corrections to the database. As regards, however, synchronous registration which came, into force on 28 September 2009, the Operations Unit carries out all the controls as set out in the regulation, in collaboration with the Litigation Unit, and legal issues and provides support for Registrants regarding the retrieval of the "authinfo" code.

Systems and Technology Development Unit - coordinates the design and development of innovative technology tools to underpin the management of the Registry. It implements these tools and deals with the technical design, development and management of automated procedures concerning all transactions affecting the life of a domain name. It also deals with the administration of data, as well as the development, security, routine and extraordinary maintenance and updating of software that enables the delivery of the registration service; the design, management and monitoring of network infrastructure of the Registry; the development, updating and maintenance of services provided to the public, Maintainers and Registrars such as: primary nameserver, EPP server, accreditation system, WHOIS, DAS, SQL Server, Web server, RAIN portal, ARP portal, e-mail distribution lists, etc. and services provided within (MIDA, OTRS, JBilling, fax server, e-mail, distribution lists, the Registry's switchboard, etc.). It is also responsible for the helpdesk for Maintainers and Registrars, and for ordering hardware and software. Among the objectives of the Systems Unit are carrying out research projects, and testing new technologies. Research projects include the "Electronic filing" project, which led to the development of software for capturing and indexing of documents (paper and electronic). This reduced the paper archive of the Registry and meant that information could be acquired through electronic queries.
Also worth mentioning is the project entitled "Study of Internet penetration in Italy through the use of domain names", whose main objectives are to analyze the spread of the Internet in Italy at a national, regional, provincial, and municipal level by macro-area (North, Central, South), among the various categories of individuals who register a domain name and to see how big a technology gap exists.
Among the activities concerning the testing of new technologies are the study and development of automatic registration systems based on synchronous communication protocols, the integration of communication services through the ENUM protocol, the implementation of safety systems based on digital certification and advanced authentication mechanisms; and the testing of DNSSEC and IDN.

External Relations, Media and Communications Units - This unit offers support and guidance to those who come into contact with the Registry via the helpdesk (paper, email and telephone). It also deals with the image of the Registry based, on policies set by the Management Committee. The unit is responsible for the organization, and the secretariat for the training courses and events sponsored by the Registry.
Within the External Relations, Media and Communications Unit is the Press Office which is aimed at promoting the image of the Registry, its operations and the IIT. It fulfills this task by giving a wider and deeper knowledge of issues of public and social interest, and maximum visibility to events of importance on a local, regional, national and international scale.
Within the Unit is also the publishing side of the Registry - this includes the Registry website, the intranet of the Registry, the Registry's newsletter (Focus.it), the Yearbook, the quick guides, etc). The External Relations, Media and Communications Unit coordinates and manages the Registry's internal and external communication, through undertakings and projects. These include the communications campaign that the Registry launched in October 2009.

Litigation and legal issues Unit - This is the legal and contractual department of the Registry, which is responsible for establishing and managing contracts for the registration of domain names in the ccTLD.it, from the preliminary drafting of agreements, to managing contracts and debt collection. This unit also collaborates on the technical regulations and legislation on procedures for registration and assignment of domains in the ccTLD.it by interacting with the Rules Committee. It examines the files relating to applications for the accreditation of service providers for resolving out-of-court disputes, which are the organizations accredited by the Registry for the extrajudicial resolution of disputes concerning domain names. It also instructs and takes care of disputes regarding the allocation of these domain names by collaborating with the CNR and the Italian legal system.
The Unit handles relations with Registrars by sending the Registry any written documents, in case of objections and at the request of the Registry. It manages issues relating to access to data, documents and information from the interested parties. It does this work on the basis of current legislation, followed by Italian legislation and international rules on domain names, with specific reference to the work of OMOI-WIPO WIP for ccTLD and gTLD, rights of intellectual and industrial property, data processing, and digital signatures. The unit handles the training of internal staff and of Maintainers and Registrars with regard to legal aspects, regulations and contracts, and generally, on Internet law.

International Relations Unit - This unit follows and participates in international activities related to the policy of registering domain names in conjunction with international bodies. Through this unit, the registry works and participates actively in international organizations that oversee aspects of Internet governance and their relationship with national registries of domain names (ccTLD-country code Top Level Domain), in particular with ICANN and ISOC. Since 2005 there has been an ongoing collaboration and support for the Government with regard to Internet governance.

MANAGEMENT OF CNR TELEMATICS NETWORK
Head: Abraham Gebrehiwot (abraham.gebrehiwot@iit.cnr.it)

IIT manages the network infrastructure of the campus of the CNR Research Area in Pisa and provides a number of services to researchers in the campus. (http://servizi.iit.cnr.it/%7Emario/piante/Default.html). The infrastructure includes cables, routers for external connections, switches, traffic control apparels (for troubleshooting and for protection from attacks), servers. Services offered to the campus personnel include: IP telephony, video broadcasting of events (unicast and multicast), http://www.area.pi.cnr.it/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=39&MMN_position=105:105> wireless coverage of the congress area and other parts of the campus, management of authentication systems, Eudoram (Education Roaming) service (http://www.eduroam.org/), LAN access in VPN modality, Network Access Server for dial-up access.

SERVICES WITHIN IIT-CNR

IIT has an internal organisation, made up principally of CNR personnel, which has the task of supplying a wide range of essential administrative, managerial, technical and scientific services both to the entire CNR Research Area and to the personnel of the Institute.
These services and offices are organised as follows:

Administration Department (Head: Rita ROSSI)
The Administration Department, by means of computerised tools and procedures, manages the administrative and accountancy activities of the Institute; issue of invoices, salaries, inventories, payment orders, collection orders, etc. and the VAT register; checks and settles the expenses for missions of Institute personnel. The department prepares the annual and three-management plan in collaboration with the various heads of department of the Institute. It deals with the stipulation of active and passive contracts, maintaining relations with contracting parties and ascertaining irregularities. The Department manages procedures relative to public tenders, respecting EU directives. It arranges the annual Registry economic-financial budget; it collaborates in all the administrative and accountancy issues regarding management of the ccTLD.it Registry including monitoring of contracting companies and debt collection. The Department organises the database used for contract management.

Personnel Department (Head: Irene SANNICANDRO)
The Personnel Department deals with the following activities: management of tenders, job applications, attendance, overtime, holidays/leave, procedures relative to incentives and overtime of Institute personnel; administration of long-term and short-term contracts and external consultancy contracts; maintenance of contacts with central CNR offices regarding employment issues; dealing with, in agreement with the Direction of the Institute, judicial inquiry regarding work done, temporary work activities, research grants, long-term CNR work relations, carrying out administrative procedures for drawing up the relative contracts.

Scientific Secretariat (Head: Adriana LAZZARONI)
The Scientific Secretariat carries out activities of scientific dissemination and technology transfer aimed at enhancing the image of IIT and at the dissemination of the results achieved in research activities. The Secretariat collaborates and provides support to the research groups and technical structures of IIT for conducting science communication and dissemination activities. The main areas of expertise are: a) supporting international activities carried out by IIT CNR and the development of projects and agreements of scientific and technological cooperation; b) promoting and disseminationg scientific and technological results through the use of web technologies; c) planning and drawing graphic products and editorials (in paper, electronic and video) for the dissemination of science; d) organizing national and international conferences and events; e) coordinating the participation of research groups to events and exhibitions for the dissemination of science (information days, IIT conferences, "open laboratories", visit of high school students and teachers etc.), for IIT, the CNR Research Area of Pisa, and the DIITET Dept. of CNR; e) planning and organizing training courses for CNR personnel in the ICT sector; f) managing the IIT Library and the scientific bibliographic databases (digital libraries, bibliographic databases, etc.); g) managing of compliance CNR regarding CNR evaluation processes, Management Plans, annual previsions of activities.

Direction Secretary (Head: Paola PACELLA)
The Direction Secretary deals with the correspondence of the Direction, the switchboard of telephone communication from the general public, the secretary's office of the Institute Committee and Management Committee of the .it Registry, management of the inward and outward records by means of computerised procedures.

Technical Office and auxiliary Services (Head: Paolo SANTERINI)
The Technical Office, broadly speaking, deals with the maintenance and management of the property of the Institute both regarding the ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of equipment, and the delivery of goods and equipment. As regards technical plant common to the CNR Research Area in general, the Technical Office serves as interface between the Institute and the CNR Area as well as with external companies responsible for equipment maintenance. The Office manages the telephony, goods inventory and outgoing post. The Technical Office coordinates activities relative to safety procedures.

Technological Services (Head: Maurizio MARTINELLI)
The "Technological Services" of IIT plan, design and develop advanced telematic applications for the Institute and, more generally, for CNR use and not only. Main areas of responsibility are: e-mail, distribution lists, the Domain Name System - DNS, the Web, content management systems, databases, backup systems, electronic archives, document flow management, Directory Services, network monitoring, etc. It also manages complex ICT systems and analyses and assesses new technological solutions for data hosting and applications. Another important area of work is technological transfer and training activities for CNR personnel, for Internet Service Providers and, in general, for the Internet community and the promotion and carrying out of applied research projects which have positive spin-off effects both for the Institute and for the Information Society in general.