A Whois server that responds to the specific queries (called the Whois queries) used to determine the availability and ownership of a second level domain name. Each Whois server can report only on information in a single registry's or registrar's database. Therefore, a Whois query result of "no match" for a domain name does not necessarily mean that a domain name is available, but just that it was not found in the database being queried.
In order to finalize a zone configuration and make it available for sales, at least one domain checker assignment is required. If one of configured registrars supports domain check for a particular zone, it is possible to assign one or more domain registrars as domain zone checker(s). However, for some zones it is reasonable to use special Whois server(s). Please refer to registrar information to know out if Whois service is supported for a zone.
The Whois plug-in implemented in Billing is a standard configuration you can use to set up as many Whois checkers as you need. Thus, you can form a list of Whois servers in Billing and after this bind each of zones to one of more Whois servers. It is possible to assign up to three checkers to a single zone.
To configure Whois plug-in:
- Open System > Settings > Domains. The list of configured registrars' plug-ins (if any) is displayed on the screen. Click Add New Registrar.
- At the screen, select the registrar from the list. Click Save and Continue. We recommend entering the name of registry or Internet coordination center that provides Whois services.
- Fill out the registrar configuration form: Specify partner account credentials and registrar entry-point details to set up connection. When finished, click Save and Continue. After initial configuration is confirmed and saved, you can proceed with the selecting TLDs.
- Select the added Whois configuration from the list by clicking on respective link in the Registrar ID or Registrar Name column. The selected Whois configuration settings appear on the screen.
- Switch to the Configuration tab.
- Click Edit. Fill the form displayed on the screen:
- Enter the Whois server domain name into the Whois server field.
- From the RegExp type group of options, select the type of sample:
- domain available – to configure the plug-in to look for "domain available' match. In case sample matches, the plug-in will respond that a domain name is available, in case a sample does not match, the plug-in response will treat this as "domain is not available".
- domain not available – to configure the plug-in to look for "domain not available" match. Similarly to the above option, in case the sample matches, the plug-in will respond "domain not available", in case no match found in Whois response, the plug-in will treat this as "domain available".
Into the RegExp field, type the regular expression that matches the type of pattern you have selected from the RegExp Type group of options.
Important: Different Whois servers send domain status response in different format. Thus, the sample used in regular expression must correspond to a response format used by Whois server you configure the plug-in for. For example, a domain status like "domain available" can be all in lower case, or Sentence case, etc., or any other wording can be used. Please refer to the Whois server documentation to know out its response format and use the correct sample in regular expression.
- Type in the pattern of a request to be send to Whois server in the Request Pattern field. By default, the field contains
%domain%, to send a domain name as a request. Some Whois servers may support other patterns, for example for checking international domain names availability.
- Click Update.