Architecture
Domains and claims
How an organisation proves it runs a domain, with one DNS TXT record.
Claiming a domain
An organisation claims a domain to show that it runs it. A Domain manager, or anyone with a higher role, adds the domain. CobraSphere then gives a TXT record to publish.
| Record | Value |
|---|---|
TXT at _cobrasphere.<domain> | cobrasphere-verify=<token> |
For the domain example.com the record goes at _cobrasphere.example.com. The token is 32 random characters.
Only that one name is checked, never the domain itself. So the record does not clash with SPF or other TXT records at the domain, and it works for a domain that points elsewhere with a CNAME.
Domain names are kept in lower case, without a trailing dot. A name with accented or other non-Latin letters is kept in its punycode form.
One organisation per domain
One organisation holds a domain at a time. A claim from a second organisation is refused while another organisation holds the domain. The organisation that holds a domain can hand it over, which ends its claim.
Claim statuses
How a claim moves between its four statuses.
| Status | What it means | Holds the domain |
|---|---|---|
PENDING | Added. The TXT record has not been found yet | No |
VERIFIED | The record was found. The organisation holds the domain | Yes |
FAILING | A later check did not find the record. The organisation still holds the domain for 14 days | Yes |
ENDED | Handed over, or the record stayed missing for 14 days. Kept as history | No |
Checking again
The records are checked every day.
- A verified domain is checked again once a month.
- A failing domain is checked every day.
- When a check fails, the claim becomes
FAILINGand the organisation's domain managers are told by email. - When the record is found again, the claim is
VERIFIEDagain. - After 14 days of failing, the claim ends.
A pending claim can be removed. A claim that holds a domain, or one that has ended, cannot be removed.
One domain, shared
A claimed domain is the same domain record that ZoneAudit uses. The claim and ZoneAudit share one domain ID, so the products agree on which domain is meant. See Shared records and ZoneAudit.