domain name availability

[Kevin Darcy]

patrick at teleport.com wrote:

> Hey
> I need to check large numbers of domains for availability. I've been
> using dig non-recursive searches, but they take a long time and
> sometimes return results as available when they are not. Recursive
> searches seem more reliable but take way too long.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas, or has anyone developed a similar tool? My
> biggest concern is speed. Is there a way I can do a non-recursive
> search and get accurate results?

Just because a domain isn't in DNS doesn't mean it's available to be
registered. NSI and probably other registrars allow one to
"reserve" domains. What you'd need is direct access to the
WHOIS database, and unless you're a registrar yourself, you're probably
not going to get it.


- Kevin