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1 Network Working Group M. Stahl
2 Request for Comments: 1032 SRI International
3 November 1987
6 DOMAIN ADMINISTRATORS GUIDE
9 STATUS OF THIS MEMO
11 This memo describes procedures for registering a domain with the
12 Network Information Center (NIC) of Defense Data Network (DDN), and
13 offers guidelines on the establishment and administration of a domain
14 in accordance with the requirements specified in RFC-920. It is
15 intended for use by domain administrators. This memo should be used
16 in conjunction with RFC-920, which is an official policy statement of
17 the Internet Activities Board (IAB) and the Defense Advanced Research
18 Projects Agency (DARPA). Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
20 BACKGROUND
22 Domains are administrative entities that provide decentralized
23 management of host naming and addressing. The domain-naming system
24 is distributed and hierarchical.
26 The NIC is designated by the Defense Communications Agency (DCA) to
27 provide registry services for the domain-naming system on the DDN and
28 DARPA portions of the Internet.
30 As registrar of top-level and second-level domains, as well as
31 administrator of the root domain name servers on behalf of DARPA and
32 DDN, the NIC is responsible for maintaining the root server zone
33 files and their binary equivalents. In addition, the NIC is
34 responsible for administering the top-level domains of "ARPA," "COM,"
35 "EDU," "ORG," "GOV," and "MIL" on behalf of DCA and DARPA until it
36 becomes feasible for other appropriate organizations to assume those
37 responsibilities.
39 It is recommended that the guidelines described in this document be
40 used by domain administrators in the establishment and control of
41 second-level domains.
43 THE DOMAIN ADMINISTRATOR
45 The role of the domain administrator (DA) is that of coordinator,
46 manager, and technician. If his domain is established at the second
47 level or lower in the tree, the DA must register by interacting with
48 the management of the domain directly above his, making certain that
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54 RFC 1032 DOMAIN ADMINISTRATORS GUIDE November 1987
57 his domain satisfies all the requirements of the administration under
58 which his domain would be situated. To find out who has authority
59 over the name space he wishes to join, the DA can ask the NIC
60 Hostmaster. Information on contacts for the top-level and second-
61 level domains can also be found on line in the file NETINFO:DOMAIN-
62 CONTACTS.TXT, which is available from the NIC via anonymous FTP.
64 The DA should be technically competent; he should understand the
65 concepts and procedures for operating a domain server, as described
66 in RFC-1034, and make sure that the service provided is reliable and
67 uninterrupted. It is his responsibility or that of his delegate to
68 ensure that the data will be current at all times. As a manager, the
69 DA must be able to handle complaints about service provided by his
70 domain name server. He must be aware of the behavior of the hosts in
71 his domain, and take prompt action on reports of problems, such as
72 protocol violations or other serious misbehavior. The administrator
73 of a domain must be a responsible person who has the authority to
74 either enforce these actions himself or delegate them to someone
75 else.
77 Name assignments within a domain are controlled by the DA, who should
78 verify that names are unique within his domain and that they conform
79 to standard naming conventions. He furnishes access to names and
80 name-related information to users both inside and outside his domain.
81 He should work closely with the personnel he has designated as the
82 "technical and zone" contacts for his domain, for many administrative
83 decisions will be made on the basis of input from these people.
85 THE DOMAIN TECHNICAL AND ZONE CONTACT
87 A zone consists of those contiguous parts of the domain tree for
88 which a domain server has complete information and over which it has
89 authority. A domain server may be authoritative for more than one
90 zone. The domain technical/zone contact is the person who tends to
91 the technical aspects of maintaining the domain's name server and
92 resolver software, and database files. He keeps the name server
93 running, and interacts with technical people in other domains and
94 zones to solve problems that affect his zone.
96 POLICIES
98 Domain or host name choices and the allocation of domain name space
99 are considered to be local matters. In the event of conflicts, it is
100 the policy of the NIC not to get involved in local disputes or in the
101 local decision-making process. The NIC will not act as referee in
102 disputes over such matters as who has the "right" to register a
103 particular top-level or second-level domain for an organization. The
104 NIC considers this a private local matter that must be settled among
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110 RFC 1032 DOMAIN ADMINISTRATORS GUIDE November 1987
113 the parties involved prior to their commencing the registration
114 process with the NIC. Therefore, it is assumed that the responsible
115 person for a domain will have resolved any local conflicts among the
116 members of his domain before registering that domain with the NIC.
117 The NIC will give guidance, if requested, by answering specific
118 technical questions, but will not provide arbitration in disputes at
119 the local level. This policy is also in keeping with the distributed
120 hierarchical nature of the domain-naming system in that it helps to
121 distribute the tasks of solving problems and handling questions.
123 Naming conventions for hosts should follow the rules specified in
124 RFC-952. From a technical standpoint, domain names can be very long.
125 Each segment of a domain name may contain up to 64 characters, but
126 the NIC strongly advises DAs to choose names that are 12 characters
127 or fewer, because behind every domain system there is a human being
128 who must keep track of the names, addresses, contacts, and other data
129 in a database. The longer the name, the more likely the data
130 maintainer is to make a mistake. Users also will appreciate shorter
131 names. Most people agree that short names are easier to remember and
132 type; most domain names registered so far are 12 characters or fewer.
134 Domain name assignments are made on a first-come-first-served basis.
135 The NIC has chosen not to register individual hosts directly under
136 the top-level domains it administers. One advantage of the domain
137 naming system is that administration and data maintenance can be
138 delegated down a hierarchical tree. Registration of hosts at the
139 same level in the tree as a second-level domain would dilute the
140 usefulness of this feature. In addition, the administrator of a
141 domain is responsible for the actions of hosts within his domain. We
142 would not want to find ourselves in the awkward position of policing
143 the actions of individual hosts. Rather, the subdomains registered
144 under these top-level domains retain the responsibility for this
145 function.
147 Countries that wish to be registered as top-level domains are
148 required to name themselves after the two-letter country code listed
149 in the international standard ISO-3166. In some cases, however, the
150 two-letter ISO country code is identical to a state code used by the
151 U.S. Postal Service. Requests made by countries to use the three-
152 letter form of country code specified in the ISO-3166 standard will
153 be considered in such cases so as to prevent possible conflicts and
154 confusion.
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169 HOW TO REGISTER
171 Obtain a domain questionnaire from the NIC hostmaster, or FTP the
172 file NETINFO:DOMAIN-TEMPLATE.TXT from host SRI-NIC.ARPA.
174 Fill out the questionnaire completely. Return it via electronic mail
175 to HOSTMASTER@SRI-NIC.ARPA.
177 The APPENDIX to this memo contains the application form for
178 registering a top-level or second-level domain with the NIC. It
179 supersedes the version of the questionnaire found in RFC-920. The
180 application should be submitted by the person administratively
181 responsible for the domain, and must be filled out completely before
182 the NIC will authorize establishment of a top-level or second-level
183 domain. The DA is responsible for keeping his domain's data current
184 with the NIC or with the registration agent with which his domain is
185 registered. For example, the CSNET and UUCP managements act as
186 domain filters, processing domain applications for their own
187 organizations. They pass pertinent information along periodically to
188 the NIC for incorporation into the domain database and root server
189 files. The online file NETINFO:ALTERNATE-DOMAIN-PROCEDURE.TXT
190 outlines this procedure. It is highly recommended that the DA review
191 this information periodically and provide any corrections or
192 additions. Corrections should be submitted via electronic mail.
194 WHICH DOMAIN NAME?
196 The designers of the domain-naming system initiated several general
197 categories of names as top-level domain names, so that each could
198 accommodate a variety of organizations. The current top-level
199 domains registered with the DDN Network Information Center are ARPA,
200 COM, EDU, GOV, MIL, NET, and ORG, plus a number of top-level country
201 domains. To join one of these, a DA needs to be aware of the purpose
202 for which it was intended.
204 "ARPA" is a temporary domain. It is by default appended to the
205 names of hosts that have not yet joined a domain. When the system
206 was begun in 1984, the names of all hosts in the Official DoD
207 Internet Host Table maintained by the NIC were changed by adding
208 of the label ".ARPA" in order to accelerate a transition to the
209 domain-naming system. Another reason for the blanket name changes
210 was to force hosts to become accustomed to using the new style
211 names and to modify their network software, if necessary. This
212 was done on a network-wide basis and was directed by DCA in DDN
213 Management Bulletin No. 22. Hosts that fall into this domain will
214 eventually move to other branches of the domain tree.
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222 RFC 1032 DOMAIN ADMINISTRATORS GUIDE November 1987
225 "COM" is meant to incorporate subdomains of companies and
226 businesses.
228 "EDU" was initiated to accommodate subdomains set up by
229 universities and other educational institutions.
231 "GOV" exists to act as parent domain for subdomains set up by
232 government agencies.
234 "MIL" was initiated to act as parent to subdomains that are
235 developed by military organizations.
237 "NET" was introduced as a parent domain for various network-type
238 organizations. Organizations that belong within this top-level
239 domain are generic or network-specific, such as network service
240 centers and consortia. "NET" also encompasses network
241 management-related organizations, such as information centers and
242 operations centers.
244 "ORG" exists as a parent to subdomains that do not clearly fall
245 within the other top-level domains. This may include technical-
246 support groups, professional societies, or similar organizations.
248 One of the guidelines in effect in the domain-naming system is that a
249 host should have only one name regardless of what networks it is
250 connected to. This implies, that, in general, domain names should
251 not include routing information or addresses. For example, a host
252 that has one network connection to the Internet and another to BITNET
253 should use the same name when talking to either network. For a
254 description of the syntax of domain names, please refer to Section 3
255 of RFC-1034.
257 VERIFICATION OF DATA
259 The verification process can be accomplished in several ways. One of
260 these is through the NIC WHOIS server. If he has access to WHOIS,
261 the DA can type the command "whois domain <domain name><return>".
262 The reply from WHOIS will supply the following: the name and address
263 of the organization "owning" the domain; the name of the domain; its
264 administrative, technical, and zone contacts; the host names and
265 network addresses of sites providing name service for the domain.
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281 Example:
283 @whois domain rice.edu<Return>
285 Rice University (RICE-DOM)
286 Advanced Studies and Research
287 Houston, TX 77001
289 Domain Name: RICE.EDU
291 Administrative Contact:
292 Kennedy, Ken (KK28) Kennedy@LLL-CRG.ARPA (713) 527-4834
293 Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
294 Riffle, Vicky R. (VRR) rif@RICE.EDU
295 (713) 527-8101 ext 3844
297 Domain servers:
299 RICE.EDU 128.42.5.1
300 PENDRAGON.CS.PURDUE.EDU 128.10.2.5
303 Alternatively, the DA can send an electronic mail message to
304 SERVICE@SRI-NIC.ARPA. In the subject line of the message header, the
305 DA should type "whois domain <domain name>". The requested
306 information will be returned via electronic mail. This method is
307 convenient for sites that do not have access to the NIC WHOIS
308 service.
310 The initial application for domain authorization should be submitted
311 via electronic mail, if possible, to HOSTMASTER@SRI-NIC.ARPA. The
312 questionnaire described in the appendix may be used or a separate
313 application can be FTPed from host SRI-NIC.ARPA. The information
314 provided by the administrator will be reviewed by hostmaster
315 personnel for completeness. There will most likely be a few
316 exchanges of correspondence via electronic mail, the preferred method
317 of communication, prior to authorization of the domain.
319 HOW TO GET MORE INFORMATION
321 An informational table of the top-level domains and their root
322 servers is contained in the file NETINFO:DOMAINS.TXT online at SRI-
323 NIC.ARPA. This table can be obtained by FTPing the file.
324 Alternatively, the information can be acquired by opening a TCP or
325 UDP connection to the NIC Host Name Server, port 101 on SRI-NIC.ARPA,
326 and invoking the command "ALL-DOM".
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334 RFC 1032 DOMAIN ADMINISTRATORS GUIDE November 1987
337 The following online files, all available by FTP from SRI-NIC.ARPA,
338 contain pertinent domain information:
340 - NETINFO:DOMAINS.TXT, a table of all top-level domains and the
341 network addresses of the machines providing domain name
342 service for them. It is updated each time a new top-level
343 domain is approved.
345 - NETINFO:DOMAIN-INFO.TXT contains a concise list of all
346 top-level and second-level domain names registered with the
347 NIC and is updated monthly.
349 - NETINFO:DOMAIN-CONTACTS.TXT also contains a list of all the
350 top level and second-level domains, but includes the
351 administrative, technical and zone contacts for each as well.
353 - NETINFO:DOMAIN-TEMPLATE.TXT contains the questionnaire to be
354 completed before registering a top-level or second-level
355 domain.
357 For either general or specific information on the domain system, do
358 one or more of the following:
360 1. Send electronic mail to HOSTMASTER@SRI-NIC.ARPA
362 2. Call the toll-free NIC hotline at (800) 235-3155
364 3. Use FTP to get background RFCs and other files maintained
365 online at the NIC. Some pertinent RFCs are listed below in
366 the REFERENCES section of this memo.
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390 RFC 1032 DOMAIN ADMINISTRATORS GUIDE November 1987
393 REFERENCES
395 The references listed here provide important background information
396 on the domain-naming system. Path names of the online files
397 available via anonymous FTP from the SRI-NIC.ARPA host are noted in
398 brackets.
400 1. Defense Communications Agency DDN Defense Communications
401 System, DDN Management Bulletin No. 22, Domain Names
402 Transition, March 1984.
403 [ DDN-NEWS:DDN-MGT-BULLETIN-22.TXT ]
405 2. Defense Communications Agency DDN Defense Communications
406 System, DDN Management Bulletin No. 32, Phase I of the Domain
407 Name Implementation, January 1987.
408 [ DDN-NEWS:DDN-MGT-BULLETIN-32.TXT ]
410 3. Harrenstien, K., M. Stahl, and E. Feinler, "Hostname
411 Server", RFC-953, DDN Network Information Center, SRI
412 International, October 1985. [ RFC:RFC953.TXT ]
414 4. Harrenstien, K., M. Stahl, and E. Feinler, "Official DoD
415 Internet Host Table Specification", RFC-952, DDN Network
416 Information Center, SRI International, October 1985.
417 [ RFC:RFC952.TXT ]
419 5. ISO, "Codes for the Representation of Names of Countries",
420 ISO-3166, International Standards Organization, May 1981.
421 [ Not online ]
423 6. Lazear, W.D., "MILNET Name Domain Transition", RFC-1031,
424 Mitre Corporation, October 1987. [ RFC:RFC1031.TXT ]
426 7. Lottor, M.K., "Domain Administrators Operations Guide",
427 RFC-1033, DDN Network Information Center, SRI International,
428 July 1987. [ RFC:RFC1033.TXT ]
430 8. Mockapetris, P., "Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities",
431 RFC-1034, USC Information Sciences Institute, October 1987.
432 [ RFC:RFC1034.TXT ]
434 9. Mockapetris, P., "Domain Names - Implementation and
435 Specification", RFC-1035, USC Information Sciences Institute,
436 October 1987. [ RFC:RFC1035.TXT ]
438 10. Mockapetris, P., "The Domain Name System", Proceedings of the
439 IFIP 6.5 Working Conference on Computer Message Services,
440 Nottingham, England, May 1984. Also as ISI/RS-84-133, June
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449 1984. [ Not online ]
451 11. Mockapetris, P., J. Postel, and P. Kirton, "Name Server
452 Design for Distributed Systems", Proceedings of the Seventh
453 International Conference on Computer Communication, October
454 30 to November 3 1984, Sidney, Australia. Also as
455 ISI/RS-84-132, June 1984. [ Not online ]
457 12. Partridge, C., "Mail Routing and the Domain System", RFC-974,
458 CSNET-CIC, BBN Laboratories, January 1986.
459 [ RFC:RFC974.TXT ]
461 13. Postel, J., "The Domain Names Plan and Schedule", RFC-881,
462 USC Information Sciences Institute, November 1983.
463 [ RFC:RFC881.TXT ]
465 14. Reynolds, J., and Postel, J., "Assigned Numbers", RFC-1010
466 USC Information Sciences Institute, May 1986.
467 [ RFC:RFC1010.TXT ]
469 15. Romano, S., and Stahl, M., "Internet Numbers", RFC-1020,
470 SRI, November 1987.
471 [ RFC:RFC1020.TXT ]
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505 APPENDIX
507 The following questionnaire may be FTPed from SRI-NIC.ARPA as
508 NETINFO:DOMAIN-TEMPLATE.TXT.
510 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
512 To establish a domain, the following information must be sent to the
513 NIC Domain Registrar (HOSTMASTER@SRI-NIC.ARPA):
515 NOTE: The key people must have electronic mailboxes and NIC
516 "handles," unique NIC database identifiers. If you have access to
517 "WHOIS", please check to see if you are registered and if so, make
518 sure the information is current. Include only your handle and any
519 changes (if any) that need to be made in your entry. If you do not
520 have access to "WHOIS", please provide all the information indicated
521 and a NIC handle will be assigned.
523 (1) The name of the top-level domain to join.
525 For example: COM
527 (2) The NIC handle of the administrative head of the organization.
528 Alternately, the person's name, title, mailing address, phone number,
529 organization, and network mailbox. This is the contact point for
530 administrative and policy questions about the domain. In the case of
531 a research project, this should be the principal investigator.
533 For example:
535 Administrator
537 Organization The NetWorthy Corporation
538 Name Penelope Q. Sassafrass
539 Title President
540 Mail Address The NetWorthy Corporation
541 4676 Andrews Way, Suite 100
542 Santa Clara, CA 94302-1212
543 Phone Number (415) 123-4567
544 Net Mailbox Sassafrass@ECHO.TNC.COM
545 NIC Handle PQS
547 (3) The NIC handle of the technical contact for the domain.
548 Alternately, the person's name, title, mailing address, phone number,
549 organization, and network mailbox. This is the contact point for
550 problems concerning the domain or zone, as well as for updating
551 information about the domain or zone.
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561 For example:
563 Technical and Zone Contact
565 Organization The NetWorthy Corporation
566 Name Ansel A. Aardvark
567 Title Executive Director
568 Mail Address The NetWorthy Corporation
569 4676 Andrews Way, Suite 100
570 Santa Clara, CA. 94302-1212
571 Phone Number (415) 123-6789
572 Net Mailbox Aardvark@ECHO.TNC.COM
573 NIC Handle AAA2
575 (4) The name of the domain (up to 12 characters). This is the name
576 that will be used in tables and lists associating the domain with the
577 domain server addresses. [While, from a technical standpoint, domain
578 names can be quite long (programmers beware), shorter names are
579 easier for people to cope with.]
581 For example: TNC
583 (5) A description of the servers that provide the domain service for
584 translating names to addresses for hosts in this domain, and the date
585 they will be operational.
587 A good way to answer this question is to say "Our server is
588 supplied by person or company X and does whatever their standard
589 issue server does."
591 For example: Our server is a copy of the one operated by
592 the NIC; it will be installed and made operational on
593 1 November 1987.
595 (6) Domains must provide at least two independent servers for the
596 domain. Establishing the servers in physically separate locations
597 and on different PSNs is strongly recommended. A description of the
598 server machine and its backup, including
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617 (a) Hardware and software (using keywords from the Assigned
618 Numbers RFC).
620 (b) Host domain name and network addresses (which host on which
621 network for each connected network).
623 (c) Any domain-style nicknames (please limit your domain-style
624 nickname request to one)
626 For example:
628 - Hardware and software
630 VAX-11/750 and UNIX, or
631 IBM-PC and MS-DOS, or
632 DEC-1090 and TOPS-20
634 - Host domain names and network addresses
636 BAR.FOO.COM 10.9.0.193 on ARPANET
638 - Domain-style nickname
640 BR.FOO.COM (same as BAR.FOO.COM 10.9.0.13 on ARPANET)
642 (7) Planned mapping of names of any other network hosts, other than
643 the server machines, into the new domain's naming space.
645 For example:
647 BAR-FOO2.ARPA (10.8.0.193) -> FOO2.BAR.COM
648 BAR-FOO3.ARPA (10.7.0.193) -> FOO3.BAR.COM
649 BAR-FOO4.ARPA (10.6.0.193) -> FOO4.BAR.COM
652 (8) An estimate of the number of hosts that will be in the domain.
654 (a) Initially
655 (b) Within one year
656 (c) Two years
657 (d) Five years.
659 For example:
661 (a) Initially = 50
662 (b) One year = 100
663 (c) Two years = 200
664 (d) Five years = 500
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673 (9) The date you expect the fully qualified domain name to become
674 the official host name in HOSTS.TXT.
676 Please note: If changing to a fully qualified domain name (e.g.,
677 FOO.BAR.COM) causes a change in the official host name of an
678 ARPANET or MILNET host, DCA approval must be obtained beforehand.
679 Allow 10 working days for your requested changes to be processed.
681 ARPANET sites should contact ARPANETMGR@DDN1.ARPA. MILNET sites
682 should contact HOSTMASTER@SRI-NIC.ARPA, 800-235-3155, for
683 further instructions.
685 (10) Please describe your organization briefly.
687 For example: The NetWorthy Corporation is a consulting
688 organization of people working with UNIX and the C language in an
689 electronic networking environment. It sponsors two technical
690 conferences annually and distributes a bimonthly newsletter.
692 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
694 This example of a completed application corresponds to the examples
695 found in the companion document RFC-1033, "Domain Administrators
696 Operations Guide."
698 (1) The name of the top-level domain to join.
700 COM
702 (2) The NIC handle of the administrative contact person.
704 NIC Handle JAKE
706 (3) The NIC handle of the domain's technical and zone
707 contact person.
709 NIC Handle DLE6
711 (4) The name of the domain.
713 SRI
715 (5) A description of the servers.
717 Our server is the TOPS20 server JEEVES supplied by ISI; it
718 will be installed and made operational on 1 July 1987.
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729 (6) A description of the server machine and its backup:
731 (a) Hardware and software
733 DEC-1090T and TOPS20
734 DEC-2065 and TOPS20
736 (b) Host domain name and network address
738 KL.SRI.COM 10.1.0.2 on ARPANET, 128.18.10.6 on SRINET
739 STRIPE.SRI.COM 10.4.0.2 on ARPANET, 128.18.10.4 on SRINET
741 (c) Domain-style nickname
743 None
745 (7) Planned mapping of names of any other network hosts, other than
746 the server machines, into the new domain's naming space.
748 SRI-Blackjack.ARPA (128.18.2.1) -> Blackjack.SRI.COM
749 SRI-CSL.ARPA (192.12.33.2) -> CSL.SRI.COM
751 (8) An estimate of the number of hosts that will be directly within
752 this domain.
754 (a) Initially = 50
755 (b) One year = 100
756 (c) Two years = 200
757 (d) Five years = 500
759 (9) A date when you expect the fully qualified domain name to become
760 the official host name in HOSTS.TXT.
762 31 September 1987
764 (10) Brief description of organization.
766 SRI International is an independent, nonprofit, scientific
767 research organization. It performs basic and applied research
768 for government and commercial clients, and contributes to
769 worldwide economic, scientific, industrial, and social progress
770 through research and related services.
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