In an effort to help applicants and their Registry Service Providers (RSPs) prepare for Pre-Delegation Testing (PDT), ICANN is inviting applicants to participate in a PDT practice round, known as Beta Testing. Beta Testing is strictly optional, and it will expose participants to all the required PDT tests that will be conducted during the official PDT phase of the program. After completing Beta Testing, a participant will receive a test results report, which will identify any requirements the participant did not fulfill during their Beta Testing. Please be aware that all eligible applicants will officially enter into PDT after the applicant has executed a registry agreement with ICANN.

ICANN will begin inviting applicants to participate in Beta Testing on 6 May 2013. Selected applicants will have the opportunity to elect to begin Beta Testing immediately. This will grant the participant access to the PDT system for data entry as early as 10 May 2013 and testing will commence as early as 20 May 2013.

The invitation process will be conducted as follows:

• Notifications will be sent via the Customer Service Portal to the applicant’s primary contact.
• ICANN will contact the active applicant with the lowest priority number from each RSP to offer them the opportunity to participate in Beta Testing.
• Should an applicant decline to participate or be non-responsive, the next priority number from that RSP will be contacted.
• Applicants that participated in the PDT Pilot are already engaged in Beta Testing.

To prepare for Beta Testing, please review our recently updated Pre-Delegation Testing Resources. Updates reflect the knowledge gained as a result of the PDT pilot and were incorporated into the following documents:

• PDT Specifications
• Instructions for PDT Data Input
• Templates and Examples of PDT Input Data
• The Query by Proxy Approach for PDT Testing of DNS Infrastructure
• The PDT System User Guide
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The updated FAQ includes several self-test tools that applicants can use to prepare themselves for PDT.

Applicants are also encouraged to review archival materials from the PDT Session held during ICANN46 Beijing for hints to prepare for PDT and further explanation on the PDT process.

This ICANN announcement was sourced from:
newgtlds.icann.org/en/announcements-and-media/announcement-2-02may13-en