URL Metadata Parser

We are looking to create a reusable tool to gather information related to URLs. Given a URL, it will search out any available data, from the current IP to whois contact information to name server, etc. This data will be parsed from various sources (often unstructured text), validated, and stored in a database.

This project will be a stand-alone unit built in Ruby on Rails, and should be easily dropped into and consumed by other applications.