---
title: "Support for Internationalized Domain Names"
canonical: "https://docs.infoblox.com/space/NAG8/22250256/Support%20for%20Internationalized%20Domain%20Names"
format: markdown
---
The Infoblox Grid supports IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) for DNS zones and resource records to provide the flexibility of specifying domain names in non-English characters.  
 An IDN is a domain name that contains a language-specific script or alphabet, such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Devanagari, or the Latin alphabet-based characters with diacritics, such as French. IDNs are encoded in multi-byte Unicode and are decoded into ASCII strings using a standardized mechanism known as Punycode transcription. For example, DNS Zone 'инфоблокс.рф' (IDN in Russian) can be written as ‘xn--90anhdigczv.xn--p1ai’ in the punycode representation. In addition, the appliance has a built-in conversion tool to assist you in identifying and troubleshooting an IDN or the punycode representation of an IDN. For information about how to decode IDNs, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[Decoding](#)</span>*[ ](#)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[IDNs](#)</span>*[ ](#)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[and](#)</span>*[ ](#)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Encoding](#)</span>*[ ](#)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Punycode](#)</span>*.  
 The appliance supports IDNs in certain fields. For more information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[IDN](#)</span>*[ ](#)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Supported](#)</span>*[ ](#)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Fields](#)</span>*. There are certain guidelines and limitations about IDN support. For more information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[IDN](#)</span>*[ ](#)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Support](#)</span>*[ ](#)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Limitations](#)</span>*.

# > Macro (anchor)

> Macro (anchor)

> Macro (anchor)

Decoding IDNs and Encoding Punycode

You can encode non-English characters into punycode and decode punycode to obtain a domain name in its original character set. You can encode IDNs and decode punycode simultaneously. You can use special characters.  
 To encode non-English character set into punycode and decode punycode:

1. Select any tab in Grid Manager, and then click **IDN** **Converter** from the Toolbar.
2. In the *IDN* *Converter* wizard, complete the following:
  - Specify the domain name in the **Unicode** text box and click **Convert** **to** **Punycode**. The **Punycode** field displays the punycode representation of the domain name.
  - Specify the punycode representation of a domain name in the **Punycode** field and click **Convert** **to** **Unicode**.  
The **Unicode** field displays the domain name in its original character set.
    **Note:** You can use special characters in the **Unicode** and **Punycode** fields.
  - Click **Clear** to clear the entries. Note that when you click **Clear** for a specific conversion, the appliance clears only the error message that corresponds to that conversion.

3. Click **Close**.

# > Macro (anchor)

> Macro (anchor)

IDN Supported Fields

The NIOS appliance supports IDNs in all domain name fields. For information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[IDN](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Support](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[For](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[DNS](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Zones](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251695/About+Domains+and+Zones#AboutDomainsandZones-bookmark1757)</span>*. You can enter non-English characters in the domain name fields through Grid Manager and the Infoblox API. The NIOS appliance does not support IDNs for data that is configurable through the Infoblox CLI commands. You can use the punycode representation to configure data through the CLI commands.  
 The appliance supports IDNs in the following:

- You can use UTF-8 characters when defining your own hostname checking policy. For information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[Specifying](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251585)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251585)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Hostname](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251585)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251585)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Policies](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251585)</span>*[.](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22251585)
- You can use both IDNs and punycode to search for IDN data through Global Search. For information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[Global](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250284/About+the+Grid+Manager+Interface#AbouttheGridManagerInterface-bookmark71)</span>* *<span style="color: #0000ff">[Search](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250284/About+the+Grid+Manager+Interface#AbouttheGridManagerInterface-bookmark71)</span>*.
- Use smart folders to organize and monitor IDN data. However, if the content in a smart folder contains IDNs, then the punycode representation is not available. For information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[About](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250222/Chapter+3+Smart+Folders#Chapter3SmartFolders-bookmark359)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250222/Chapter+3+Smart+Folders#Chapter3SmartFolders-bookmark359)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Smart](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250222/Chapter+3+Smart+Folders#Chapter3SmartFolders-bookmark359)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250222/Chapter+3+Smart+Folders#Chapter3SmartFolders-bookmark359)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Folders](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250222/Chapter+3+Smart+Folders#Chapter3SmartFolders-bookmark359)</span>*[.](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250222/Chapter+3+Smart+Folders#Chapter3SmartFolders-bookmark359)
- You can import data that contains IDNs in CSV format for the supported fields and objects using CSV import. For more information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[About](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250268)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250268)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[CSV](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250268)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250268)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Import](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250268)</span>*[.](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250268) For a list of supported record types and specific guidelines for creating a data file, refer to the *Infoblox** CSV** Import** Reference*.
- The IPAM tab displays IDNs for DNS resource records associated with IP addresses, such as A records, AAAA records, hosts, and PTR records. For information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[About](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250951/Chapter+13+IP+Address+Management#Chapter13IPAddressManagement-bookmark1206)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250951/Chapter+13+IP+Address+Management#Chapter13IPAddressManagement-bookmark1206)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[IP](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250951/Chapter+13+IP+Address+Management#Chapter13IPAddressManagement-bookmark1206)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250951/Chapter+13+IP+Address+Management#Chapter13IPAddressManagement-bookmark1206)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Address](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250951/Chapter+13+IP+Address+Management#Chapter13IPAddressManagement-bookmark1206)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250951/Chapter+13+IP+Address+Management#Chapter13IPAddressManagement-bookmark1206)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Management](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250951/Chapter+13+IP+Address+Management#Chapter13IPAddressManagement-bookmark1206)</span>*[.](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250951/Chapter+13+IP+Address+Management#Chapter13IPAddressManagement-bookmark1206)
- The audit log entries are displayed in their original characters. The audit log contains IDN data as received by the appliance and as specified by the administrators. Note that the punycode representation generated by NIOS is not displayed in the audit log.
- When you upgrade from a previous NIOS release, the appliance converts all punycode to IDNs. If the conversion fails, the appliance retains the punycode representation to avoid upgrade failure. For information about upgrades, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[Guidelines](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[for](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Upgrading,](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Backing](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Up,](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[and](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Restoring](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Data](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[.](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)
- When you restore a backup file from a previous NIOS release, the appliance converts all punycode to IDNs. If the conversion fails, the appliance retains the punycode representation to avoid failure to restore the database. For information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[Guidelines](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[for](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Upgrading,](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Backing](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Up,](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[and](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Restoring](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Data](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)</span>*[ .](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22250280/About+Tasks#AboutTasks-bookmark132)
- If synchronized data between the appliance and Microsoft servers contains IDNs, the IDNs are preserved. For information, see *<span style="color: #0000ff">[Managing](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22280620/Chapter+35+Managing+Microsoft+DNS+Services#Chapter35ManagingMicrosoftDNSServices-bookmark2678)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22280620/Chapter+35+Managing+Microsoft+DNS+Services#Chapter35ManagingMicrosoftDNSServices-bookmark2678)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Microsoft](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22280620/Chapter+35+Managing+Microsoft+DNS+Services#Chapter35ManagingMicrosoftDNSServices-bookmark2678)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22280620/Chapter+35+Managing+Microsoft+DNS+Services#Chapter35ManagingMicrosoftDNSServices-bookmark2678)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[DNS](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22280620/Chapter+35+Managing+Microsoft+DNS+Services#Chapter35ManagingMicrosoftDNSServices-bookmark2678)</span>*[ ](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22280620/Chapter+35+Managing+Microsoft+DNS+Services#Chapter35ManagingMicrosoftDNSServices-bookmark2678)*<span style="color: #0000ff">[Servers](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22280620/Chapter+35+Managing+Microsoft+DNS+Services#Chapter35ManagingMicrosoftDNSServices-bookmark2678)</span>*[.](https://infoblox-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/NAG8/pages/22280620/Chapter+35+Managing+Microsoft+DNS+Services#Chapter35ManagingMicrosoftDNSServices-bookmark2678)

# > Macro (anchor)

> Macro (anchor)

IDN Support Limitations

The appliance has the following IDN support limitations:

> Macro (legacy-content)

## Using IDNs for Unsupported Objects

The appliance accepts only punycode entries for objects that do not support IDNs. To use IDNs for these objects, manually convert IDNs to punycode and use the punycode representation.  
 Use the punycode representation of IDNs for the following:

> Macro (legacy-content)

## Displaying IDN Entries in Punycode

The appliance displays IDN entries in punycode for the following:

> Macro (legacy-content)