Sub-zone requests and registrations

Dotted Hostnames

• The use of dots in the host-name portion of an FQDN is not permitted. Using a dot in the host-name effectively fakes the zone, which can cause record duplication and other issues. (RFC 921)

DNS Sub-zone Guideline

• Definition:  sub-zone and sub-domain can both refer to a container of records.  For this document we will refer to them as sub-zones.

  This guideline pertains to the creation of sub-zones of uwaterloo.ca in DNS.

• IST is responsible for the creation/delegation of all records in Campus DNS
• The second level zone uwaterloo.ca is managed by IST
  • Sub-zones for individual applications is not permitted
  • Multi-use/multi-purpose/common sub-zones is permitted
  • Exception: Campus-wide initiatives, such as email, where RFC compliance requires it
• Each of the following groups can request one (1) sub-zone of uwaterloo.ca: (https://uwaterloo.ca/faculties-academics)
  • A faculty
  • An official school 
  • An affiliated and federated institution of the University of Waterloo
  • Research centers and institutes
  • Research groups, as defined by the Senate Graduate & Research Council at: https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/committees-and-councils/senate-graduate-research-council/research-groups
  • Student Societies, as listed at: https://wusa.ca/about/student-bodies/student-societies/ 
  • Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association
• The requested sub-zone is called a 3rd level zone. eg: .uwaterloo.ca
• 3rd level Zone names must be reasonable in nature
  • A unit must have a reasonable claim to the name being requested
  • The name should reflect the requesting unit
  • The name should not be a 'vanity' name
  • Name disputes will be subject to the recommendations of the Web Advisory Committee: https://uwaterloo.ca/web-advisory-committee/projects/domain-name-resolution-subcommittee
• All units can request multiple sub-zones within their assigned 3rd level zone (eg. ..uwaterloo.ca)
  • Approval from the owner of the third-level zone is required
  • Clubs must be listed as an official club on the WUSA club listing (https://uwaterloo.ca/waterloo-undergraduate-student-association/clubs) or their respective Student Society homepage as defined at  https://wusa.ca/about/student-bodies/student-societies/ 
• Records associated with globally routable IP addresses will be contained in the "External" DNS view
• Records associated with locally scoped IP addresses will be contained in the "Internal" DNS view in a fourth-level zone (eg. ..uwaterloo.ca)
• Sub-zones in the "Internal" DNS view must be unique from those in the "External" DNS view
• Creating CNAME records that cross between "External" and "Internal" DNS Views is prohibited

Additional Resources 

For additional information, please see:

• Network device naming standards
• Telecommunication room guidelines
• Management of campus domain names
• Domain name and IP management