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- Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU
- Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!paladin.american.edu!auvm!HARVNOC.BITNET!SOB
- Message-ID: <9212310308.AA06219@hsdndev.harvard.edu>
- Newsgroups: bit.listserv.domain-l
- Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 22:08:19 -0500
- Sender: Domains Discussion Group <DOMAIN-L@UGA.BITNET>
- From: SOB@HARVNOC.BITNET
- Subject: RE: INTERBITs and NETDATA
- Lines: 38
-
- Ok, lets see - here you have bitnet site HARVISR, you want this to be known
- as harvisr.bitnet and not harvisr.harvard.edu - tell me again where this is
- better.
-
- It does not make any sense to name a computer using the transport network,
- that is sort of like having phone company specific phone numbers. The
- whole point of the domain naming systems is to have a transport independent
- naming procedure.
-
- any site on bitnet which has a registered domain name should have all
- accessable nodes at that site in their domain name tables. If they must
- use MX records for some sites since they can not be reached directly with
- SMTP then so be it. The idea of having some nodes addressed in a different
- way just because they are serviced by a different network means that the
- sender of the mail must then know your internal network structure - not a
- good idea, even in the rare case where that structure is static.
-
- any site on bitnet that does not have a registered domain name can register
- a name through bitnet. Nameservers at Berkeley and Harvard have MX records
- for the domains so registered (and yes, we try and direct the traffic to
- the "best" gateway) Many sites have registered such domains, not all or
- even enough, but many. The registration does require some specific
- functions for mail forwarding at the site but the functions are part of all
- of the major BITNET software packages. This same software can allow users
- on bitnet connected nodes to use the DNS to address mail to other node, on
- bitnet or on the Internet in a transparent way.
-
- All sites that are bitnet-only connected should have registered domain
- names but have not, mostly due to a lack of understaning on the part of the
- site managers. They don't know whay anyone "out there" would want to send
- mail to their site, and they don't want to go to the bother of installing
- the right software and getting their site registered.
-
- in short, we have a naming structure (the DNS) to use anything else causes
- confusion today and even more confusion tomorrow as the connectivity
- changes.
-
- Scott
-