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Frequently asked questions

  • I am looking for a domain name registrant. Where can I look it up?

    The Whois is an easy-to-use tool for checking the availability of a .nl domain name. If the domain name is already taken, you can see who has registered it.

    On the page looking up a domain name you will find more information about what a domain name is, how the Whois works and how the privacy of personal data is protected. Alternatively, you can go straight to look for a domain name via the Whois.

  • I would like to transfer my domain name to another registrar. What is the procedure?

    To get your domain name transferred, you need the token (unique ID number) for your domain name. Your existing registrar has the token and is obliged to give it to you within five days, if you ask for it. The procedure for changing your registrar is described on the page transferring your domain name.

  • The details registered about me/my company are incorrect or out of date. How can I get them updated?

    To update the contact details associated with your domain name, you need to contact your registrar. Read more about updating contact details.

  • Why is my domain name in quarantine?

    When a domain name is cancelled, we aren't told the reason, so we can't tell you. You'll need to ask your registrar. The advantage of quarantine is that, if a name's cancelled by mistake, you can always get it back.

    One common reason is that the contract between you and your registrar says you've got to renew the registration every year. If you haven't set up automatic renewal and you don't renew manually, the registration will expire.

  • Ik heb een klacht over mijn provider/registrar. Kan ik daarvoor bij SIDN terecht?

    Wanneer je een klacht hebt over of een geschil met je registrar dan zijn er verschillende mogelijkheden om tot een oplossing te komen. Hierover lees je meer op pagina klacht over registrar. SIDN heeft geen formele klachtenprocedure voor het behandelen van een klacht over jouw registrar.

  • What conditions do I have to meet as a registrar?

    Would you like to be able to register domain names for customers or for your own organisation by dealing directly with SIDN? If so, you can become a .nl registrar. Read more about the conditions and how to apply for registrar status on the page becoming a registrar.

More frequently asked questions

"Packet Run is an interactive marble run that shows people how the internet works"

SIDN Fund is supporting the Packet Run pioneering project

The Packet Run installation built at Dutch Design Week 2023
  • Monday 30 October 2023

As a society, we're highly dependent on the internet, which has become part of the nation's vital infrastructure. Yet not many people actually understand how the internet works. Packet Run is an installation that shows people how something as ordinary as viewing a website involves data being routed back and forth across the internet. Packet Run is the result of collaboration between SIDN Fund, the Moeilijke Dingen design studio and SIDN Labs. It draws on PathVis, the visualisation tool developed by SIDN Labs, to enable people without a technical background to see the pathways across the internet taken by data packets. Lei Nelissen from Moeilijke Dingen and Ralph Koning from SIDN Labs talk about the internet's complexities and the interactive marble run.

Lei Nelissen demonstrates the Packet Run installation to a visitor at Dutch Design Week 2023

Lei Nelissen (right), Technology Designer at Bureau Moeilijke Dingen, demonstrates Packet Run during the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.

Visualising internet routes

One of SIDN Labs' research fields is future internet structures. "The Responsible Internet – a user-centred internet with transparency to the fore – is an important focus for us," says Ralph Koning. "However, most internet users have no idea how their network traffic travels from source to destination. So, here at SIDN Labs, we developed PathVis: a traceroute-based visualisation tool, which uses internet routing information to generate graphics of the pathways used by data traffic. Although it isn't an exact science, the tool helps you to see how the internet works. Nevertheless, it became apparent to us that, while the tool is great for researchers and techies like us, it's hard for people without a technical background to grasp what they're seeing."

Traceroute

Traceroute is a tool that's been used since the start of the internet for localising network problems. The software is available as standard on all Linux/Unix systems.

Collaboration between SIDN Labs and Moeilijke Dingen

"Eventually, SIDN Labs came across the Moeilijke Dingen design agency," Ralph continues. "We brainstormed together about how to make PathVis accessible to ordinary users. The aim was to shine a light on the way the internet works, and encourage discussion. There's far more to that than downloading and installing something." The Moeilijke Dingen ('Difficult Things') agency has a real flair for concept visualisation. As Lei Nelissen recounts, "In the end, we came up with the idea of building an installation. Then the challenge was translating the internet, an electronic process, into a physical form. And the solution we came up with was a marble run. We began building the installation – which we've named Packet Run – back in June. It's actually 27 separate marble runs, occupying an area of 25 square metres. It's a complex installation, symbolising the complexity of the internet."

The Packet Run installation built at Dutch Design Week 2023

The Packet Run installation built at the Dutch Design Week 2023 in Eindhoven.

Dutch Design Week

"When you look for a website on the internet, you send a query to a server, which responds, enabling you to view the website," Lei explains. "The queries and responses are contained in little packets of data, which are sent around the world by sorting machines known as routers, using a global network of cables. Packet Run lets you experience what it's like being one of those packets. You travel around the world to collect data so that a website can be viewed. Along the way, you discover who controls the basic internet infrastructure, and what the associated risks are." The Packet Run installation was exhibited at October's Dutch Design Week 2023 in Eindhoven. The event brings together designers from all across the Netherlands, and addresses topical issues for the design industry. "Dutch Design Week is an ideal opportunity for talking to people about our installation and facilitating discussion," says Lei. "This is how the internet works. How do you feel about that? Do you regard it as shocking, confusing or simply logical? The installation attracted lots of attention."

Support from SIDN Fund

"We couldn't have realised Packet Run without SIDN Fund," adds Lei. "SIDN Labs provided the technical expertise and gave us advice on the concept and the final installation. Then we came up with the design and developed the installation. Having a keen interest in promoting societal development of the internet, SIDN Fund provided the financial support that made the project possible. Crucially, it was also SIDN Fund that put the project partners in contact with each other. Without the Fund, we would never have ended up working together."

Portrait of Ralph Koning
Ralph Koning, Research Engineer at SIDN Labs

Permanent home

"The Packet Run installation looks complex enough," says Ralph. "But the actual internet is far more complex. It's really difficult to show people just how complex the internet is, but Moeilijke Dingen has made a great job of it." According to Lei, the ultimate plan is to find a semi-permanent home for the installation. "We're talking to various centres in the Netherlands with an interest in the internet, technology and culture, and we hope that Packet Run will soon find a good home."

For more about PathVis or Packet Run, mail Ralph Koning (SIDN Labs) at sidnlabs@sidn.nl, or Lei Nelissen (Moeilijke Dingen) at lei@moeilijkedingen.nl.