[dns-operations] Verisign won't delete obsolete glue records?

[Jim Reid]

> On 1 Mar 2021, at 23:24, Doug Barton <dougb at dougbarton.email> wrote:
> 
> Back in the day, new name servers were created, and the host names of those name servers lived in one of the zones that were delegated to them. Glue records to the rescue! Now that entire zone, which includes those old name server host names, has been delegated to a new set of name servers with host names in completely different zones. Therefore the glue records (registry host records) are no longer relevant, and I want them deleted.
> 
> Verisign is telling me (through my registrar) that they refuse to do this, as long as those host names still have domains delegated to them. 
> 
> So what am I missing here? I know that in the past it was possible, and in fact desirable, to remove those obsolete glue records, but now it's impossible to do it?

The original glue records will not be obsolete even though you believe they are. There must be at least one other delegation in the .com registry which references the nameserver object(s) for the glue record(s) you think are no longer relevant.

The registry pseudo code for deleting a nameserver object is

	decrement nameserver object reference count
	if nameserver object reference count == 0
		delete nameserver object

So if barton.com (say) is delegated to ns.doug.com, deleting doug.com will not delete ns.doug.com unless barton.com (and whateverelse.com) are no longer delegated to that name server.

If you ask Verisign nicely, they might tell you what other domains are referencing the glue you want to delete. Or, as the holder of doug.com, you could just get your registrar to change the IP address for ns.doug.com and then wait to see what domain name(s) go lame.