Third-level Domain Names

Domain Name Creation

Computing Services will create a single third-level domain for any department or administrative group that meets the following criteria:

1. Situations in which fifty (50) or more machines are:
   • owned by a single administrative or academic department or other organizational group and comprise the whole of the machines owned by that department
     AND
   • are maintained by a designated system administrator or team of system administrators(s).
2. The group or department is one of the university's colleges (CIT, MCS, SCS, etc.) or any academic department that issues undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral degrees.
3. The group or department is headed by a Vice-President.
4. The group or department reports directly to the Provost.

In the case of such requests, the third-level domain name must identify the group (e.g., cit.cmu.edu, cs.cmu.edu, english.cmu.edu) and only one third-level domain may be requested.

Vanity Names

To address a desire for "vanity names" for web servers that do not represent one of the groups listed, campus affiliates should adhere to one of the following alternatives:

1. The web.cmu.edu domain
   We have created a web third-level domain called "web" for servers that do not represent a group or that represent a group that does not meet the criteria specified in the Guidelines for Third-Level Domain Names. If you operate a webserver that is owned or operated by an academic or administrative department or an organization recognized by the university, you can send a request to DataComm (dc0m@andrew.cmu.edu) to have your computer added to web.cmu.edu. Some examples of webservers that are members of the web third-level domain are:
   
   • bookstore.web.cmu.edu
   • oli.web.cmu.edu/openlearning/
   
   Note: Student-owned computers in the residence halls and machines connected remotely (through a dedicated modem, DSL, or other service) cannot be added to the web.cmu.edu domain.
2. Redirected directories on www.cmu.edu
   If you don't want to rename your server to xxxxx.web.cmu.edu, or if your website is within a subdirectory of a webserver, you can request that a top-level directory on www.cmu.edu redirect traffic to your website. If you operate a webserver or website that is owned or operated by an academic or administrative department or an organization recognized by the university, you can send a request to the Carnegie Mellon Webmaster (webmaster@cmu.edu) to have a redirection added to www.cmu.edu for your organization.
   
   Note: Student-owned computers in the residence halls cannot be the target of www.cmu.edu redirects.

Not Permitted

The following naming conventions are not allowed:

• Names deemed to be offensive or obscene by the university
• Any name which misrepresents the machine by making it appear to be a "service" system (FTP-ANDREW, SOFTDIST, VICE4, etc.) or a system representing a CMU department or group (HOUSING, REGISTRAR, PSYCHOLOGY, etc.) when it does not.
• Any name which places the machine in an inaccurate domain (e.g., Psychology Department machines should not be placed in the ECE.CMU.EDU domain).