1 Introduction

This is an article I've wanted to write for a long time, but it involves just too many knowledge points, many of which are beyond technical details. For example, it covers the internal logic of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's (MIIT) website registration system (hereinafter referred to as the registration system), the roles within it, the relationships between these roles, and the standards that are blocked. Although this article is written from a technical perspective, the logic flowchart includes some of the above-mentioned content, making it unavoidable. Previously, I knew nothing about it (and I'm not much better now). My only knowledge of website building was: "You need an 'index.html' file, which can be obtained by downloading free templates." Therefore, website registration was a vague concept for me; I knew its macro-level purpose, but its micro-level implementation was completely unclear.

The most direct reason I've wanted to write this article is probably a professional habit I have as a technologist. It's similar to how I react when I can't watch online videos at work due to internet access restrictions: "Why can't I watch them? How is this implemented? xxxxx?" Only now it's the problem of "I can't build a website without registration." Usually, when faced with this situation, I'm used to writing a solution to clarify my thoughts. However, solutions typically begin with a "project introduction" and a "list of existing problems." But I don't even have a project, let alone any existing problems. What should I do?

Embracing the spirit of "if there are difficulties, we must overcome them; if there are no difficulties, we must create them," and coincidentally, I was already troubled by the fact that "I hadn't documented the process of setting things up, which meant I had to start from scratch every time." So, the project "Building a Personal Blog" was initiated. After the blog was built, it needed to be published in China using port 443, which, logically, involved registration. This seemed to be the connection point. Adhering to the principles of "you must give before you take," "you can't catch a wolf without risking your cub," and "Buddha sacrificed his own flesh to feed the eagle," I chose to personally participate: registering my blog (of course, a small part of the reason was that I didn't know about Cloudflare at the time).

2. The technical essence of the "filing system"

---

---

3. How does the "filing system" work?

---

---

4. How to efficiently complete personal registration

From a management perspective, what is the essence of domain name registration? In short: "The domain name and the registrant are tightly bound together. If a website under this domain name commits a crime, the registrant will be arrested directly." In other words, the domain name is the "legal representative."

The current filing system now implements a three-level architecture: the MIIT system, the provincial communications administration system, and the access supplier enterprise-side filing system. According to regulations, when users file, they must submit filing information through the access supplier enterprise-side system, and then transmit relevant information to the provincial and ministerial systems through the enterprise-side system (after the filing review is passed, the provincial and ministerial systems will also feed back data from the enterprise-side system based on the same principle, so why it takes several working days to file now is because of this process). The access suppliers we are most familiar with are Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud.

If you want to file a record as an individual, the simplest and most efficient steps are as follows:

1. Choose an internet service provider and purchase an inexpensive cloud server (there are many options for new users starting at 99 RMB for the first year). This is mainly to obtain a "registration authorization code" (this is Tencent's terminology; Alibaba calls it a "registration service code").

---

Regardless of the name, the purpose of this step is to define the location of your website. There is a rule that "the IP address currently resolved by the domain name must be the IP address of the access service provider's node server within mainland China." This is to facilitate subsequent supervision. However, due to CDN technology, this rule is practically useless: currently, as long as the domain name is registered, you can freely choose the CDN service provided by any domestic CDN provider. Therefore, no one has been penalized yet for "the resolved IP address is not the server IP address used during domain name registration."

---

2. Use the filing system provided by the access provider to file

To be honest, it is very convenient to register with this solution, because you have already purchased the server of the access supplier, have the registration authorization code (or other codes), and there is not much information to fill in. The most painful thing is to name the website. You are not allowed to use words with clear references, such as blogs, clothing, movies, etc., so I ended up with a very strange name that makes people have no idea what your website is:

The photo for record must meet the following requirements:

If you already have a registered domain name under your personal account, when you need to register another domain name, you need to ensure that all the www websites of the previously registered domain names can be opened and comply with the precautions mentioned in the next section, otherwise:

However, there are also advantages. When you don't understand something, there will be someone to serve you (either by phone or online) and teach you step by step. Isn't this better than going out and spending a lot of money to find someone to register you?

After completing the information submission, someone from the supplier registration department will call you. After confirmation, they will submit it to the provincial communications administration bureau and start the process we mentioned earlier.

Note: Under normal circumstances, the filing will definitely be approved. After all, it is called filing. It is just a record to make it easier to catch you if you commit a crime in the future.

5. Daily precautions after filing

As I mentioned earlier, the registration mainly involves binding the domain name to the "legal representative," which is just for record-keeping and doesn't actually impose many restrictions. The routine, periodic checks on these domain names are handled by the relevant departments of the internet service provider, and include the following checks:

1. Can the website corresponding to the www host name be opened normally?

Taking the domain name "example.com" as an example, it is necessary to ensure that regular checks are performed.http(s)://www.example.comThe ability to access the site normally is to prevent the malicious behavior of "occupying a place without using it," since the registered domain name is on the whitelist that can be accessed normally in China, and it cannot be taken lightly.

How to deal with it: Be open-minded and don't make it difficult for the inspectors. Just make a page, point the parsing result of www to it, and then ensure that this page can always be accessed (otherwise why would I write this article:The home data center series uses Tencent Cloud COS+CDN to achieve cost-effective static page hosting (domain name registration required)? ).

2. Display specifications for pages corresponding to www

a. Label display name

Simply put, the display name of the web page label is the same as the website name filled in when filing, as follows:

Because I didn't know anything at the time, the girl who called me said there was a problem with the display name of the label, but I didn't know what it meant. She also said that the girl was unprofessional, which made her very anxious. Later I realized that it was my own comprehension that was problematic.

b. The registration number at the bottom is displayed

The registration number needs to be displayed in the center at the bottom of the page and must be a link pointing tohttps://beian.miit.gov.cn, it should be able to be opened directly by clicking.

3. IP address of www page resolution

As we said before, although this resolved IP theoretically needs to point to the server IP address associated with the registration authorization code (or any other code), it can actually be changed by using the services of any domestic CDN supplier, so the requirements are not that strict. However, it is limited to the IPs of domestic CDN manufacturers. For example, when I started to directly resolve to cloudflare, the patrol girl notified me to make corrections within a limited time. So, we should be honest and at least use a domestic CDN. As for the source station pointing, it is not that strict. I used to point directly to nginx in my home data center (I also tried to point to cloudflare, but later felt it was not appropriate, so I changed it to point to my home). It was only a few days ago that I pointed the CDN directly to Tencent Cloud's COS.

Note: Only the pages corresponding to www must have the registration number written on them. Websites corresponding to other third-level domain names are normally not managed by anyone, at least not within the scope of routine inspections by inspection personnel. However, you should still try to keep a low profile, such as if you have already registered.

6. After the filing is completed, is it necessary to renew the cloud server fee when it expires?

Let me first state the conclusion: theoretically, no. The essence of purchasing a cloud server is to obtain a filing authorization code (or some other code) to fulfill the prerequisite for successful filing from the access supplier. Once the filing is successful, it is normally useless (mainly because the resolution IP must be the access supplier server IP, which is not effective), so as long as the filing number www page can pass the daily inspection, it will be fine (otherwise why would I writeThe home data center series uses Tencent Cloud COS+CDN to achieve cost-effective static page hosting (domain name registration required)This article? It is to prepare for not renewing Tencent Cloud Lightweight Server in the future. After all, 29.77 a year is much cheaper than renewing the cheapest Tencent Cloud Lightweight Server. In this way, even if I want to check the expiration of the server associated with the registered authorization code, I may be given a break if I see that my source site is pointing to my own COS).

However, I don’t know if there will be stricter and more abnormal regulations in the future. For example, when a registered domain name uses CDN, the source site must point to the server IP at the time of registration. If there is such a regulation, then the cloud server really needs to be renewed.

7. What should I do if there are problems with a website under a certain domain? (Major issue)

The general process is as follows:
1. First, check if the domain name is registered. If not, skip to step 4. If it is registered, have the person from the access provider where the registration is located contact you by phone to make rectifications. If you cannot reach them by the phone number provided during registration, proceed to step 2.
2. Ask your internet service provider to suspend your access services within its capabilities. For example, if you are using Alibaba Cloud's DNS resolution service, CDN service, and have purchased Alibaba Cloud servers, have them all suspended. If you find that your website is still accessible, then proceed to step 3.
3. If you've reached this step, it means your DNS resolution and CDN are not with your access provider (are you playing both sides?). For example, even though you're registered with Alibaba Cloud, you're using DNS resolution and CDN from another unknown provider. In this case, you need to check if the DNS resolution provider is controllable. If it's in China, it's fine. But if it's not in China and doesn't comply, it's troublesome, and you can only proceed to step 4.
4. If you get to this step, it means that at least the DNS resolution agency is uncontrollable (usually overseas). In that case, check the domain registrar (although many overseas, these two are the same entity). If that doesn't work either, contact the domain management agency. If that doesn't work either (for example, .io domains are not available for purchase from domestic domain servers), then you can only proceed to step 5.
5. Gloriously entered the "wall" blacklist.

8. Afterword

I've finally finished writing this. This article was exhausting. From brainstorming, getting involved, trying it out, learning various things, to finally finishing it, it took me at least eight months. But I've finally sorted out the whole process, and my obsessive-compulsive disorder can finally put a huge weight off my shoulders.

Now, my .com domain is hosted on Cloudflare, and the websites are all built on Cloudflare. The domain I registered before has completed its historical mission and is now idle and being kept in reserve. However, it's still pretty good for letting others access my home Emby server, since it's a whitelisted domain and has official registration. Coincidentally, China Telecom is now cleaning up inbound HTTP(S) access from unregistered domains in home broadband, so my registered domain can still come in handy.

Note: Due to my limited knowledge and lack of understanding of the implementation details in many fields, many of the conclusions in the article are based on the situations I encountered during use and some speculations based on the knowledge I know, so they may not be accurate enough. If there are any errors, you are welcome to leave a message to correct them.