What is DNS?
DNS, the Domain Name System, performs the mapping between symbolic domain names (like aaa.bbb.sc.edu) and IP addresses (like 129.252.xxx.yyy).

Each of our networked systems which uses Internet services of any kind must have an IP address in the University's address space of 129.252.0.0. For convenience, we want systems that provide such services to have a human-friendly, symbolic name in the University's DNS domain sc.edu.

How do I get a domain name?
For domains administered by USC, send e-mail to hostmaster@sc.edu with the IP address of the machine you want to name and the name you'd like. If the name is for a Web server, be sure to say so. We work very closely with the Web maintainers to make sure things work well, future developments will not be disruptive, and so on.

Several units administer their own name space (sub-domain.sc.edu). We will provide pointers to the local hostmaster for those domains.

Sometimes, people just make up a domain name for their URL and publicize it before asking. Distressingly often, the name they choose cannot possibly work (for various reasons). Here are some suggestions:

Use an existing domain within sc.edu

We do not support domains outside our name space or addresses outside our 129.252 network.

The existing list of sub-domains is not perfect, but adding to it is a non-trivial exercise. We can negotiate, but we much prefer to work in the existing framework. If your academic or administrative unit has a subdomain (say, cba.sc.edu for the College of Buffalo Anatomy), our first suggestion will be to work within it.

The Hump Morphology Institute may feel that they've just gotta have the name www.uschmi.sc.edu, or hump-morphology.sc.edu, or whatever. Let's face it, though: no one is going to "guess" the domain name. They will

• follow a link to it,
• cut and paste it from another document, or
• on rare occasions read it in a paper document and type it in.

Furthermore, names in the top level of sc.edu have longer expiration/time-to-live values than the sub-domains. Any updates may take appreciably longer to propagate around the Internet than if we stick within the sub-domain.

An alias at the level hmi.sc.edu, equivalent to say, hmi.cba.sc.edu, can be created. This avoids the propagation delay for updates. Some justification would be required in order to avoid cluttering the top-level domain, which can lead to human errors in making modifications. Also, see below if your server houses multiple home pages.
 

It does not have to start with www

There is no requirement that a Web server's name start with a component "www."

It makes sense for a unit's main Web server to be called www.cba.sc.edu; but even that is not mandatory. For any additional or specialized servers, there's no reason at all for the "www." convention to be used. Remember, no one is going to "guess" the domain name unless it is something like www.intel.com.

Therefore, hmi.cba.sc.edu might be a good choice, as long as no other network services will need it in the future. The hostname part might just as well be xyzzy rather than any descriptive name. If we see http:// ahead of it, we can be pretty sure that it's a Web server!
 

Avoid superfluous redundancy- specifically, the string usc

Many people get attached to names like uschmi instead of hmi. This is simply redundant, since sc.edu is unequivocally the University of South Carolina.

If the goal is to come up with a short, snappy name to go in the URL, adding the redundant usc just makes it longer. Snappy, on the other hand, is in the eye of the beholder; and we will confess that we just don't think uschmi has anything to recommend it. On the remote end (which may be in West Columbia or West Timor) it will probably come out sounding like "Us-Chmee". :-)

Ditto for HMIWEB or www-hmi, unless the simple name is already used or reserved for other services.

Can I have a domain name hmi.sc.edu,
and make it map to a particular page on my College's server?

We (hostmaster) can do nothing about the "making it map" part. This is strictly a function of the Web server, and unfortunately it is very difficult to do. We can make the top-level alias hmi.sc.edu equivalent to the fully-qualified domain name www.cba.sc.edu; but that's all.

Remember that you can include a directory path in published URLs

We earnestly recommend that you consider using the form www.cba.sc.edu/hmi/ instead. This will give the default web page (whatever your server software calls it) in the sub-directory hmi on the college Web server.

You may also consider asking that they be housed on the University server, as www.sc.edu/hmi/ We think this is one of the most attractive forms for URL's, when things have become complicated.

The alternative is fraught with peril. First, you have to convince us that you need hmi.sc.edu, and as noted above we will be reluctant.

Then your Webmaster must try to map that to the particular page at www.cba.sc.edu. It seems as though this ought to be dead simple, but it is not supported well by most server software. In spite of the fact that the domain name in the URL is available to the Web server, most of them seem not to act on that information.

Then in all likelihood, your Webmaster will realize that the only way to do this with the brain-damaged software we're using, is to allocate a second IP address to the same interface on the same machine. Here you fall afoul of Network Planning. These folks are trying to keep our collective head above water by reclaiming unused addresses, not wasting them for purely cosmetic purposes. If they consent to this at all, it will be with a clear understanding that it is both temporary and revocable.

Just say "no"-- or better yet, just say

See our Web page at www.cba.sc.edu.

and make sure when they connect to the home page, they will see the link for HMI. You might even try

See our Web page under "Colleges and Schools" at www.sc.edu.