OpenSRS Quickstart Guide

This guide gives you an overview of the OpenSRS Reseller Control Panel and walks you through your first domain registration. Read it end to end before you provision any domains. OpenSRS (Open Shared Registration System) is the provisioning service for domains, and the Reseller Control Panel is the web-based interface you use to register, transfer, and manage them.

What the Reseller Control Panel does

The Reseller Control Panel is a web-based system that lets you register and transfer domain names, manage SSL/Trust products and DNS, configure your Storefront, and manage your reseller account settings. Once your reseller profile is activated, you are automatically enabled to act as a reseller for all gTLDs, ccTLDs, Managed DNS, and Digital Certificate (SSL) products available through OpenSRS.

Before you begin

• A registered reseller account. Register at opensrs.com/join/. After registration, you receive a confirmation email with your username and password. OpenSRS reseller signups are automated and self-serve. After completing registration, you will receive a confirmation email with your account details.
• Awareness of the activation fee. There is a one-time, non-refundable reseller activation fee.
• Optional: funds in your live account. Required only when you are ready to register real domains. You can practice in the test environment first without spending real money.

Product availability

Once your reseller profile is activated, available OpenSRS products are automatically enabled for your account.

Some products or services may require additional setup, configuration, or funding before they can be used.

The two OpenSRS environments: Live and Test

OpenSRS maintains two environments — Live and Test — so that you can experiment risk-free before working with real registrations. The test environment is also known as Horizon and mirrors the live environment closely.

The OpenSRS test environment

The test environment lets you try the system without affecting real registrations or your account balance. It differs from the live environment in the following ways:

• Registrations are not processed into the public root registry. Domains registered in the test system are not real and are not functional on the internet.
• Registrations use test credits, not real money.
• The test environment will likely not recognize your nameservers. Use ns1.systemdns.com and ns2.systemdns.com.
• You can register names that are not actually available on the internet. The test environment only checks against previous test registrations.
• You cannot transfer domains in the test environment.
• Billing and payment functions are not available.

Sign in to the test environment at manage.test.opensrs.com using the credentials you chose at registration.

The OpenSRS live environment

If you have funds in your live account, you can begin registering real domains. Sign in at manage.opensrs.com using your reseller credentials.

Step 1: Complete your first-time account setup

After your first sign-in, complete a few tasks in Domains > Settings.

Technical contact information

Technical contact information is required for every registration and transfer you process. Your clients supply Administrative and Billing contacts; as the reseller, you supply the Technical contact. This is the person who should be reached for any domain issue at your company.

End-user contact settings

This section controls what information is displayed in WHOIS lookups at tucowsdomains.com.

Default nameservers

Set the default nameservers for new domain registrations, or default to the Parked Page system. In the test environment, you must use ns1.systemdns.com and ns2.systemdns.com.

Step 2: Set up billing and payments

Open the Settings drop-down menu at the top right of the Reseller Control Panel and select Billing and Payments. From there, you can check your balance, add funds, set a low-balance warning threshold (on the Settings tab), and view transactions.

Step 3: Register a domain name

We recommend that you run through registration in the test environment first at manage.test.opensrs.com. Test registrations are free and let you learn the workflow without spending money.

Registering a domain involves two stages: looking up the name, then completing the registration form.

Look up a domain

In the Domains section of the Control Panel, select the + icon to open the Add a Domain window. Enter a name or keywords and select Search. You can scope the search by checking:

• gTLDs: all global top-level domains and their status (available, taken, and so on).
• Popular ccTLDs: .au, .ca, .cc, .co, .es, .eu, .me, .nl, .tv, .uk, .us.
• More ccTLDs: all other country-code top-level domains.

If the domain is available, select Register Now? to open the Domain Registration Form. If the domain is taken but not locked, you can initiate a transfer instead.

Complete the Domain Registration Form

The Domain Registration Form is divided into four blocks. Key fields are described below.

When you submit, you return to the main menu. Confirmation and error messages appear at the top of the screen.

Useful options for new resellers

Domain Quick Filter

The Domain Quick Filter appears as soon as you enter the Domains section. If you see the message Your results are currently being filtered, select View Filters to see what is applied. If no filters are applied, all domains in your account are listed.

Through Advanced Filtering, you can view domains by gTLD, ccTLD, verification status, brand, status, creation or expiration date, and various domain settings (domain locking, auto renew, and more). Once filtered, you can make changes one at a time or in bulk.

Manage registered domains

As a reseller, you manage domains in the Control Panel. End users manage their own domains in the Manage Web Interface (MWI) at manage.opensrs.net using the username and password you set in the order.

MWI URLs:

• Test: manage.test.opensrs.com
• Live: manage.opensrs.com

OpenSRS Storefront

Storefront is a public-facing website you can brand and configure so customers can register domain names with a credit card. Configure it from the Settings menu at the top right of the Control Panel.

Troubleshooting interrupted reseller signups

If the reseller signup process is interrupted before completion, the username and/or email address used during signup may remain temporarily reserved for up to 24 hours.

This can happen if you:

• Close the browser tab or window during signup
• Navigate away from the signup page
• Use the browser Back button during signup
• Abandon the signup process before completing registration
• Use private or incognito browsing mode
• Use a privacy-focused browser
• Have cookies turned off
• Clear browser data during signup
• Use browser settings or extensions that prevent session data from being saved

If your username or email address is temporarily reserved, you have two options:

• Wait up to 24 hours, then restart signup using the same username and/or email address
• Restart signup immediately using a different username and/or email address

After the 24-hour reservation period expires, you can resubmit the signup form using the original username and/or email address.

To help avoid signup issues, complete the reseller signup process in a regular browser session with cookies enabled and avoid navigating away from the signup flow until registration is complete.

Next steps

• Configure your account settings. Set up two-factor authentication, branding, messaging, and funds. See the Your Quick-Start Guide to OpenSRS article.
• Practice in Horizon. Use the test environment to rehearse registrations before committing real funds. See the Horizon / Test System Accounts article.
• Learn the management interfaces. Familiarize yourself with RCP, MAC, MWI, and Storefront. See the OpenSRS Management Interface article.
• Bookmark login URLs. Keep a single reference for every OpenSRS service. See the Login URLs for OpenSRS Services article.

Questions? Contact OpenSRS Support.