Domain Name System (DNS) Policy

Introduction

The Domain Name System (DNS) maps Internet Protocol (IP) numeric addressing schemes to descriptive names, so that individuals browsing the Internet do not have to remember numeric addresses.

UCit is responsible for administering the UC.EDU domain officially acquired by the University of Cincinnati. In this capacity, UCit allocates, registers, arbitrates and maintains the "name space," guaranteeing best performance, fair use and compliance with DNS conventions and University of Cincinnati's policies. (See Domain Naming Policy at http://www.uc.edu/web/domain_name.htm).

Nameservers

All domains using University resources must reside on UCit's domain name servers. UCit is responsible for the security, operation and maintenance for the University of Cincinnati network (UCnet), 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Other Domains

Support for other non-uc.edu domains will be limited to entities directly affiliated with the university, and will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Web Advisory Committee in consultation with the Network Operations Center (NOC) and the E-Commerce Committee as needed.

In most instances, support for non-uc.edu names will only be provided for one domain name for a given site. If requesting more than one domain name (e.g., xxx.org and xxx.net), documentation must be included in the exception request (see below) that outlines the necessity for the variation from standard policy.

All hostnames for machinces on the 129.137.x.x UCnet will reside in the uc.edu domain or sub domain. Users may not register their own domains for machines on UCnet. Non-uc.edu domain names hosted by UC must be registed by UC's NOC at the requestor's expense.

For an exception to this policy to be reviewed, the request must be initiated by the head of the requesting unit, using a UC e-mail address or departmental letterhead. Requests must include the following information:

1.  a description of the purpose, function and nature of the organization and proposed domain name/Web site;
2.  an explanation for how the organization and the Web site are tied to the mission of the university;
3.  an explanation of how the requestor is associated or affiliated with the university;
4.  affirmation that the request is not on behalf of a private business or commercial activity;
5.  contact information, including mail, e-mail and telephone, for both on- and off-campus locations; and
6.  agreement to terms and conditions for DNS hosting, and Web hosting if applicable, as established by the university. If request is approved, a provider agreement will be sent to you electronically.

Address requests for an exception to:

UCNOC@UCMAIL.UC.EDU and WebCommunications@uc.edu

Or to:
UCit NOC
G-58 HPB
ML 0819

513-558-0999 FAX

Rev. 02/18/05.