LANGFORD@VCUVAX.BITNET (Bob Langford) (05/16/88)
Hi, I've got a question about domain naming schemes.
We're hooking up a university-wide network using IP/TCP, which will
soon be connected to SURAnet/NSFnet. Naturally, we want to set up some
domain-style names for our systems, but we're having some disagreements
about how many levels the names should have, i.e., RUBY.VCU.EDU vs
RUBY.MCV.VCU.EDU (no one thinks we need 5 levels!) We will have about
10 "large" hosts (>10 users), about 5-10 small hosts (1-2 user Suns)
and dozens of Macintoshes or PCs connected on subnets. Many people here
want 3 level names for ease of remembering, others want 4 level names for
distributed naming (node addresses will be assigned by distributed means,
not a central authority). Some months ago, someone suggested assigning
nodes 4 level names, but also providing a 3 level "alias" for the most
popular systems. Is this wise and/or feasible? What do most places do?
(Extra info: most of our computers are Pyramids using UNIX, with a few
Sun 3/xxx systems, and a VAX/VMS system running Wollongong software.)
Bob Langford
MCV Academic Computing
Virginia Commonwealth University
(804) 786-9843
Bitnet: LANGFORD @ VCUVAX