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Information Management Systems and Services
IMSS  /  Services  /  Wired, Wireless & Remote Access  /  Wired Network  /  Domain Name Service

Domain Name Service

Host Names

At this time, only hostname requests which end in .caltech.edu will be honored. Sub-domains (of the format hostname.subdomain.caltech.edu) will be honored and an alias will be created so that hostname.caltech.edu and hostname.subdomain.caltech.edu will both work. This is done to assure unique hostnames within the caltech.edu domain. Under limited circumstances, hostname.subdomain.caltech.edu entries will be created without a hostname.caltech.edu alias. This is done on a case by case basis when previously arranged with a Caltech department.

Obscene or offensive hostname requests will not be honored as those hostnames reflect poorly upon the Institute and the Caltech Community. Please read Domain Names for additional information.

All requests for caltech.edu domain names are subject to approval by the Office of Strategic Communications.

Domain Names

Sub-domains (hostname.sub.caltech.edu) will be honored when the sub-domain is clearly affiliated with a group on campus. Some examples of this are:

CACR.caltech.edu - CACR is short for Center for Advanced Computing Research
IMSS.caltech.edu - IMSS is short for Information Management and Systems Services
SubMM.caltech.edu - SubMM is short for Sub Millimeter Wavelength Research

Sub-domains are issued on a first-come first-served basis. All attempts are made to match sub-domains and hostnames with groups to reduce confusion (for example, a student group wanting surf.caltech.edu for a surfing club would be refused because the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship is commonly referred to as SURF, an alternate of surfing.caltech.edu would be recommended).

Domain names which do not end in caltech.edu are handled on a case by case basis. In order for a non-caltech.edu domain to be hosted, the domain must focus on core research functions at the Institute where the use of a non-caltech.edu domain furthers the goals of the project. At present time, only domains ending in .org and .net will be permitted on the Caltech network. All other domains will be rejected.

Please note that Hostmaster will not bear any costs needed to register or renew a non-Caltech.edu domain. One may submit their requested domain name be associated with Caltech resources athttp://help.caltech.edu (request type IMSS-->Network, Wireless & Remote Access-->Host and Address Requests). Please submit as much information as you can pertaining to the purpose of the non-Caltech domain name, specifically:

  • Who is the faculty sponsor and their contact information
  • Who is the technical contact for the computing resources (systems administrator or project administrator)
  • Justification as to why a non-caltech.edu sub-domain would be preferred
  • The purpose of the project or research
  • What non-Caltech groups will be affiliated in the research (other institutions, government bodies or academic entities)
  • What is the time duration of the project (how many years will the project be active)

Once we have this information, we will submit your request for approval to the Chief Information Officer's office. Upon approval, we will create the entry for the non-Caltech domain.

Hosting

Requests for a hostname in the caltech.edu domain will be honored as long as the Owner or Responsible Party (RP) is affiliated with Caltech.

Hosts requesting a hostname separate from the caltech.edu domain will not be hosted from Caltech owned Domain Name Servers. If there is a need for a hostname separate from the caltech.edu domain, the RP will need to contact a third party for Domain Name Hosting. Non-Caltech domain names can be obtained from Network Solutions, but cannot be assigned to Caltech IP address space without prior permission of IMSS Hostmaster.

Historically, Caltech provided Primary Domain Name service for groups affiliated with Caltech until those groups located a more permanent "home" for their computer equipment. This is performed on a very limited basis and requires that special conditions be met. Groups which qualified for this in the past have been Caltech Affiliated Start-ups, allowing them to create an identity separate from Caltech. For more information, please contact Hostmaster.

Hostnames are to be associated with Caltech owned address space (normally starting with 131.215.xxx.yyy). Exceptions must be approved by the Chief Information Officer and are normally limited to:

  • Caltech's Off Campus Research Units (for example: LIGO, SIRTF, OVRO...)
  • Campus owned startups (for a limited time)
  • Campus funded collaborations with other institutions

Reverse Entries

Caltech will provide Forward and Reverse lookup entries for hosts properly registered on CITnet. Forward and Reverse entries will not be issued for DHCP issued addresses.

Secondary Hosting

Caltech does not provide Secondary Domain Name Hosting except through special agreements with Caltech Affiliates. For more information, please contact Hostmaster.

Running Your Own DNS Server

At this time, IMSS will not further delegate DNS duties to other groups on campus. If you are a group on campus who is running a separate DNS and want to re-incorporate that data with the Caltech run DNS, please contact Hostmaster and we will work with you to move your data.

Further Information

Contact Information

Hostmaster can be reached at https://help.caltech.edu (request type IMSS-->Network, Wireless & Remote Access-->Host and Address Requests).