rayan@ai.toronto.edu.UUCP (11/23/87)
CA Subdomain Registration Questions and Answers Updated November 22, 1987 This is a compilation of questions or issues that may crop up during your registration process. It will be updated as our experience expands, and as new concerns become apparent. Comments or suggestions, or new questions, should be sent by electronic mail to registry@ai.toronto.edu (aka utai.uucp). Q: How will the registration process work for sites that are on multiple networks, for example CDNnet, UUCP, and NetNorth? A: Sites on multiple networks can choose any net they wish to liaise through. Since CDNNET and NetNorth will do it at no additional cost to their members, many such sites may go through them. If the site thinks UUCP is important enough, or they get some other benefit by going through it, they may do so. The only difference should be in who you deal with, and what and how information is distributed, and finds its way into the UUCP map for example. Q: What qualifies as an organization within the framework of the rules for registering a subdomain? A: The word "organization" is used in its original sense. Typically, an organization will be a company or institution or association, but there is no requirement that it be a legal entity. For example, computer clubs or SIGs that can act responsibly should have little trouble being accepted. You should also note that an organization may itself be a member of other organizations (for example, trade associations), and there is no directive stating whether the organization itself should register directly, or whether the super- organization should manage a zone for its member organizations. This latter possibility would of course require agreement between the cooperating member organizations. Q: How do personal or private sites fit into the picture? A: The CA authority does not want to register individuals' home PC at this time. The intent for such sites is that they either gather together in associations (or clubs, etc.) which can register a domain, or hang off of registered domains using existing addressing kluges. The only way to integrate such sites would be through kluges in the domain hierarchy, which is deemed undesirable. The problem of assigning electronic addresses to individuals (independent of location and vocation) is something that will become more acute in the next few years, but it is not one we can solve now, or in isolation. Q: How does this affect our UUCP map entry? A: The intention is that static information associated with a registered domain will be added to the d.can.* files of the UUCP map distribution. The normal u.can.* map files will retain their function for all sites that have not registered a subdomain. For those sites that have, these files will contain dynamic information associated with specific hosts. In particular, link costs for UUCP neighbours will be kept here. This is slightly contrary to the long-term goal of the UUCP project of eliminating the u.* files, but I believe the two kinds of information need to be maintained separately, and this is the obvious implementation. For sites with registered subdomains, the only hosts for which specific information is given should be those that interact with hosts outside the organizational subdomain. Q: Where in the geographical hierarchy does our organization fit? A: This depends very much on what your organization does, and how. The general rule as stated in the CA Instructions document, is that you register under the smallest geographical region "covering the branches or significant activity of your organization". If you interpret the "significant activity" as daily operational contact, you will have a good idea of what is meant. To different kinds of organizations, the rule will apply in different ways, of course. Therefore, precedent will provide guidance once a suitable collection of organizations have applied. There remained an issue of how Universities and Colleges should be integrated in the hierarchy, as these institutions are very diverse in nature among themselves, and certainly different from other types of organizations. It was decided to largely ignore the various nuances, and arbitrarily require Universities to register at the second level, and Colleges at the third under the provincial code. Q: How do I know which municipality names are valid, if we wish to register at that level? A: If your organization is in or near a city, assume the name of that city is available for you to register under. In case of doubt, feel free to enquire about it. Q: Can we register multiple subdomains? A: Not under the Canadian national domain. You are free to register in any domain you wish outside CA, in addition to being under CA. There are a half dozen sites registered under COM and EDU, but a registration under CA does not cancel any other registrations. Given appropriate software, there is no technical reason to not have multiple domain names. Q: How do I find forwarders? A: If you don't have contacts already, there isn't much to do but to ask around. I recommend that you seek forwarders on the Internet and on NetNorth (Canada's BITNET). This is not a very practical thing for every small organization to do however. If you can agree with other sites in your area to pursue one (or a few) common forwarders for your geographical region (municipality or province). It would be very good if your region can compile a list of hosts willing to act as forwarders for sites in your area, and then spread the load among them (if they provide the service gratis). Organizations registering at the second level (right under CA), will need to make their own arrangements; having generic gateways into .CA is likely to be a poor idea due to the volumes involved. Q: What is the description of the organization there for? A: For people who browse through databases or the UUCP map, it makes the reading more interesting. Feel free to use this space for a 5-line commercial for your organization. Rayan Zachariassen registry@ai.toronto.edu