Overview
- .azure is a brand generic top-level domain (gTLD) created under ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- It was proposed as the short gTLD counterpart to the Windows Azure family of cloud services and is intended to provide a secure, globally recognized platform for those services.
- Source information states that Microsoft manages the TLD and is its registry; an ICANNWiki template entry also lists Verisign in the registry field.
History
- The .azure application was submitted during ICANN's New gTLD Program and published on Reveal Day (13 June 2012).
- The string was delegated to the DNS root zone on 08 June, 2015.
- The applicant (Microsoft) outlined aims for security, stability and brand protection in its application materials.
Usage and Audience
- Primary audience: customers and users of Microsoft's Windows Azure family of cloud services.
- Intended use: to protect the Windows Azure brand, promote Azure services, and provide an authentic, secure namespace for Microsoft-related Azure resources.
- The gTLD is positioned for enterprise cloud and platform services connected to Microsoft/Azure offerings.
Registration Rules
- Registration is restricted: only Microsoft Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries are eligible to register .azure domain names.
- Microsoft Domain Name Management is responsible for the .azure Domain Management Policy (aDMP), which defines eligibility, allocation rules, acceptable use, and dispute resolution.
- The registration process described in the application comprises four steps:
- Eligibility Confirmation
- Naming Convention Check
- Acceptable Use Review
- Registration
- The aDMP may be updated by Microsoft to reflect commercial and strategic interests as well as applicable ICANN policies.
SEO and Brand Impact
- Microsoft stated goals for .azure include increasing users' sense of security and authenticity when interacting with Azure services, strengthening brand protection, and promoting the Windows Azure cloud family.
- The applicant emphasized operating the registry to high service levels to support trust and reliability.
- Microsoft asserted that a brand-specific gTLD would differentiate and provide an authentic platform tied directly to the Windows Azure brand.
Operator
Microsoft Corporation
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: AZURE
organisation: Microsoft Corporation
address: One Microsoft Way
address: Redmond WA 98052
address: United States of America (the)
contact: administrative
name: Program Manager
organisation: Microsoft Corporation
address: One Microsoft Way
address: Redmond WA 98052
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1 425 706 3546
fax-no: +1 425 457 2511
e-mail: registry@microsoft.com
contact: technical
name: TLD Registry Services Technical
organisation: Nominet
address: Minerva House, Edmund Halley Road, Oxford Science Park
address: Oxford OX4 4DQ
address: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
phone: +44 1865 332211
e-mail: registrytechnical@nominet.uk
nserver: DNS1.NIC.AZURE 213.248.219.129 2a01:618:403:0:0:0:0:129
nserver: DNS2.NIC.AZURE 103.49.83.129 2401:fd80:403:0:0:0:0:129
nserver: DNS3.NIC.AZURE 213.248.223.129 2a01:618:407:0:0:0:0:129
nserver: DNS4.NIC.AZURE 2401:fd80:407:0:0:0:0:129 43.230.51.129
nserver: DNSA.NIC.AZURE 156.154.100.3 2001:502:ad09:0:0:0:0:3
nserver: DNSB.NIC.AZURE 156.154.101.3 2001:502:2eda:0:0:0:0:3
nserver: DNSC.NIC.AZURE 156.154.102.3 2610:a1:1009:0:0:0:0:3
nserver: DNSD.NIC.AZURE 156.154.103.3 2610:a1:1010:0:0:0:0:3
ds-rdata: 25698 8 2 2c2d532d450f86fbc9238816088ed98ae6c8a5f665706dd634ba4e63a8d8837f
ds-rdata: 40166 8 2 9f412d488bc68de48010ed08d94cc6830cd604296f3bdf244ac9d7dfa74ae458
whois:
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://www.microsoft.com
created: 2015-04-30
changed: 2025-05-01
source: IANA
