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RDAP Configuration

Overview

RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is the modern replacement for WHOIS. Poweradmin supports RDAP lookups for domain registration information with structured JSON responses and better internationalization support.

RDAP Lookup

Configuration Options

RDAP settings live under modules.rdap in config/settings.php.

Setting Default Description
modules.rdap.enabled false Enable RDAP lookup functionality
modules.rdap.default_server '' Optional default RDAP server URL (empty to use server from RDAP database)
modules.rdap.custom_servers [] Custom TLD-to-server mapping for TLDs not in the built-in database
modules.rdap.request_timeout 10 HTTP request timeout in seconds for RDAP queries
modules.rdap.restrict_to_admin true Only allow administrators (user_is_ueberuser) to use RDAP functionality

Configuration Example

return [
    'modules' => [
        'rdap' => [
            'enabled' => true,
            'default_server' => '',
            'custom_servers' => [
                'za' => 'https://rdap.example.com/za/',
            ],
            'request_timeout' => 15,
            'restrict_to_admin' => true,
        ],
    ],
];

Custom Server Mapping

The custom_servers option allows you to define RDAP servers for specific TLDs that may not be in the built-in database. Custom servers take priority over the built-in server list.

'custom_servers' => [
    'za' => 'https://rdap.registry.net.za/',
],

Docker environment variable:

PA_MODULE_RDAP_CUSTOM_SERVERS=za=https://rdap.registry.net.za/

Lookup priority:

  1. default_server, if set
  2. Custom servers (from custom_servers config)
  3. Built-in RDAP server database

Warning: default_server is not a fallback. When it is non-empty it is the only server ever queried, and custom_servers and the built-in database are never consulted. Leave it empty unless you want every lookup to go to one server.

RDAP vs WHOIS

Feature WHOIS RDAP
Protocol Plain text JSON over HTTPS
Security No encryption HTTPS encryption
Internationalization Limited Full Unicode support
Machine readable No Yes
Rate limiting Basic Standardized
Authentication None OAuth2 in the protocol (not implemented in Poweradmin)

Usage

When enabled, RDAP lookups provide:

  1. Structured data - JSON responses with consistent formatting
  2. Enhanced security - HTTPS-based queries
  3. Better performance - HTTP-based protocol
  4. Internationalization - Full Unicode domain support

How to Use RDAP Lookup

  1. Navigate to any zone in Poweradmin
  2. Click the RDAP button or icon next to the domain name
  3. View the structured registration data

RDAP Response Data

RDAP returns structured information including:

  • Handle: Registry-assigned identifier
  • Status: Domain status (active, inactive, etc.)
  • Events: Registration, expiration, last update dates
  • Entities: Registrant, admin, tech contacts with roles
  • Nameservers: Configured DNS servers with their details
  • Links: References to related resources
  • Remarks: Additional notes from the registry

Choosing Between WHOIS and RDAP

Use RDAP when you need:

  • Machine-readable data for automation
  • International domain names (IDN)
  • Structured contact information

Use WHOIS when you need:

  • Quick manual lookups
  • Legacy system compatibility
  • Simple text output

Supported TLDs

RDAP supports lookups for:

  • All major gTLDs (.com, .net, .org, .info, etc.)
  • Many ccTLDs with RDAP servers
  • New gTLDs with RDAP implementation

Security Features

  • Admin restriction - Access limited to administrators by default
  • Input validation - Domain names and server URLs are validated before queries

Warning: The URL validator accepts http as well as https, so a plain-HTTP default_server or custom_servers entry is queried unencrypted. Use https URLs. Nearly all entries in the built-in server database are HTTPS, but a handful of registries publish http endpoints.

Poweradmin does not throttle RDAP queries or handle HTTP 429 responses; each lookup is a single request with a timeout.

Configuration Best Practices

Production Environment

'rdap' => [
    'enabled' => true,
    'default_server' => '', // Use automatic server detection
    'request_timeout' => 30, // Longer timeout for reliability
    'restrict_to_admin' => true,
],

Development Environment

'rdap' => [
    'enabled' => true,
    'default_server' => 'https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/',
    'request_timeout' => 10,
    'restrict_to_admin' => false, // Allow all users for testing
],

RDAP Server List

The TLD-to-server mapping ships with Poweradmin as a static list generated from the IANA RDAP bootstrap registry. It is loaded from disk when the module starts.

  • Nothing queries IANA at runtime, so a lookup for a TLD missing from the list simply fails
  • The list is refreshed between releases; use custom_servers to add or override an entry in the meantime
  • There is no fallback from a failed lookup to default_server

Performance Considerations

  • Timeout tuning: request_timeout balances reliability against a blocked interface
  • No caching: every lookup performs a fresh HTTP request; responses are not stored
  • Error handling: a failed RDAP lookup returns an error. There is no automatic fallback to WHOIS, run a WHOIS lookup separately if needed