Domain Name Aliases

From time to time, UGA campus departments desire domain name aliases to make it easier for individuals to associate a "branded name" with a given information technology resource or common Web content which serves the mission of the department. These branded names are typically of the form www.name.uga.edu (or possibly name.uga.edu), where name represents the resource or content (but it may also represent the department itself, e.g., www.cs.uga.edu for the Computer Science Department at UGA.)

For many years, tight restrictions were placed on the names that could be requested because it was necessary to maintain a database associating those names with individuals who were authorized to change the names or the resources to which they pointed. It was anticipated that without a reasonable set of criteria for limiting names (including who could request them), the number of requests and the authorization database would become unmanageable. Unfortunately, the current set of criteria has made it difficult for departments to brand their Web resources without becoming frustrated.

Fortunately, a compromise between ease of requesting domain name aliases and name administration has been reached. Departments that wish to request domain name aliases in the form(s) listed above may do so through their official domain network liaisons (DNLs) via the online DNL Web Registration System. These aliases will be created on a first-come, first-served basis (i.e., they cannot supercede existing aliases by the same name without the permission of the current alias owner.) In addition, all future aliases ending in name.uga.edu can only be requested (through the appropriate DNL) by the department owning the initially requested alias with the same ending. Any conflict in the use of a domain name alias between two departments must be resolved between them. In addition, domain name aliases can only point to resources over which the requesting DNL has authority, unless explicit permission is given by the DNL responsible for the target resource.