Iowa State University IT

DNS Policy Restatement 2008

The Domain Name System (DNS) is an Internet-wide network of servers that translate names like "www.iastate.edu" into numerical Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, which computers on the Internet use to communicate with each other. Without DNS, we'd have to memorize IP addresses instead of using intuitive names for machines and services that the IP addresses refer to.

Policy Statement

  1. The principal domain name for Iowa State University is "iastate.edu". One of Iowa State University's goals is to maintain a unified Internet presence. To achieve that goal, all machines connected to the Iowa State University network must be registered in the Iowa State University Domain Name System and all hosts on the Iowa State University network must be registered inside the iastate.edu domain.
  2. All domain names in the Iowa State University Domain Name System must resolve to an Iowa State University IP address, unless a specific exception is allowed. Similarly, any Iowa State University IP address will formally resolve to an Iowa State University registered name in the iastate.edu domain.
  3. All services that are provided by members of the Iowa State University community as part of their official function and as part of Iowa State University's mission must be registered within the iastate.edu domain.
  4. Domain names that are outside the iastate.edu domain that imply association with Iowa State University cannot be registered, regardless of who is providing the DNS service, unless prior permission has been obtained from Iowa State University.
  5. Domain names that are outside the iastate.edu domain and that contain Iowa State University trademarks must have the additional approval of the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer. Examples are: "ISU," "Cy," "Cyclone,. "Cyclones," "Iowa State," and "Iowa State University".
  6. Members of the Iowa State University community may not register a domain name outside the iastate.edu domain and have that domain name resolve to (i.e., point to) a computer or service on campus. However, students living in the Iowa State University residence facilities may point to personal computers in this way for their personal use, provided the computer is located in their Iowa State University residence and will not be used for commercial activities.
  7. Approved domain names that are outside the iastate.edu domain must be hosted on the Iowa State University Domain Name System except in approved cases.
  8. All exceptions that are granted will be assigned as an alias to the domain name that would otherwise normally apply to the request, if such a domain name exists. This will allow Information Technology Services staff to use network tools to determine the unit to which a particular service is affiliated even though the affiliated unit does not appear in the exception domain name.

Policy Implementation

  1. Information Technology Services (IT Services) is responsible for implementing this policy. To contact IT Services about domain name administration issues or if you have questions about this policy, please send an e-mail message to dns@iastate.edu.
  2. Requests that are denied through the normal DNS request process may be appealed to the Office of the CIO. Please send appeal requests to dns@iastate.edu.
  3. If the justification for a non-standard domain name changes, the assignment of the name will be reviewed. Examples are:
    • If a center or institute is no longer officially recognized, those domain name assignments will be reviewed to determine the continued use of the domain names assigned.
    • If no Iowa State University faculty or staff is associated with the domain name, that domain name can no longer be hosted on the Iowa State University Domain Name System.
    • If colleges or departments reorganize, IT Services staff will work with the affected units to determine the continued use of the domain names assigned.
  4. The format for domain names is "hostname.subdomain.iastate.edu", where:
    • The naming structure is intended to follow Iowa State University's internal organizational structure. In addition to official Iowa State University documents, the Iowa State University published directory may be used as a reference for this determination.
    • The subdomain component of the domain name is the official Iowa State University college, department, unit, center, institute or council name, or official university abbreviation. The subdomain component is determined by IT Services staff and the IT staff of the affiliated unit. For example, the subdomain for Information Technology Services is "its.iastate.edu".
    • The hostname component of the domain name may be chosen by the affiliated unit and will be reviewed by IT Services staff for appropriateness. For example, the hostname component of staff.its.iastate.edu is "staff".
    • The hostname component of the domain name must consist of only the ASCII alphabetic and numeric characters, plus the hyphen. No other symbols or punctuation characters are permitted, nor is a blank space. If the hyphen is used, it is not permitted to appear at either the beginning or the end. In addition, the hostname can't be all numeric.
    • The domain name should not use trademarked or copyrighted terms unless permission is obtained from the trademark or copyright holder.
    • The domain name should be limited in length to 59 characters total, including the dots and the trailing ".iastate.edu".
    • The domain name must not be distasteful, obscene, or used to misrepresent the purpose.
    • Exceptions to this format may be allowed only if the following conditions are met:
      • The proposed domain name is for a Iowa State University-wide service or Iowa State University-wide program that is not easily identified with a single Iowa State University unit, or it is a service that is being offered primarily to people or groups that are outside of Iowa State University and who are not likely to be familiar with the details of Iowa State University's internal organizational structure.
      • The proposed domain name is for a consortium of many different organizations within or outside of Iowa State University.
      • The proposed domain name is not now, and is not likely to become, ambiguous if it is used as a hostname without the subdomain component and the hostname will not likely be used as a subdomain in the future.
      • The proposed domain name is not likely to change.
      • The proposed domain name must be approved by IT Services. Requests that are denied may be appealed to the Office of the CIO. Please send appeal requests to dns@iastate.edu.

University Student Organizations

All student organizations that are recognized by the Dean of Students Office as an official Iowa State University student organization must be placed in the "stuorg.iastate.edu" domain.

ISU Research Park

Iowa State University provides DNS service support to the Iowa State University Research Park. That activity and the names registered under that activity are governed under other policies specific to the Iowa State University Research Park.