Network Working Group                         Federal Networking CouncilRequest For Comments: 2146                                      May 1997Category: InformationalObsoletes: 1816                 U.S. Government Internet Domain NamesStatus of this Memo   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  This memo   does not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of   this memo is unlimited.Abstract   This memo provides an update and clarification to RFC 1816.  This   document describes the registration policies for the top-level domain   ".GOV".  The purpose of the domain is to provide naming conventions   that identify US Federal government agencies in order to facilitate   access to their electronic resources.  This memo provides guidance   for registrations by Federal Agencies that avoids name duplication   and facilitates responsiveness to the public.  It restricts   registrations to coincide with the approved structure of the US   government and the advice of its Chief Information Officers.  Two   documents are recognized as constituting documentation on the US   government structure: FIPS 95-1 provides a standard recognized   structure into which domain registrations for .GOV and FED.US can   fit; and, the US Government Manual [3], a special publication of the   Federal Register, provides official documentation of the government   structure. The latter document may be subject to more timely updates   than the former.  Either document is suitable for determining which   entities qualify for second-level domain registration within .GOV and   FED.US.   As a side effect, this RFC reduces the number of .GOV and FED.US   level registrations and reduces the workload on the registration   authority.  Previous versions of this document did not address the   FED.US domain.  This document anticipates the migration of the .GOV   domain into the FED.US domain, in keeping with common practice on the   Internet today.Federal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 1]RFC 2146         U.S. Government Internet Domain Names          May 1997U.S. GOVERNMENT INTERNET DOMAIN NAMES POLICY   The .GOV domain is delegated from the root authority to the US   Federal Networking Council.  The .GOV domain is for registration of   US governmental entities on the federal level only.  Registrations   for state and local governmental agencies shall be made under the .US   domain in accordance with the policies for that domain.  Further   references in this document to .GOV should be understood to apply to   FED.US as well.  The most succinct form of the policy is "one agency,   one name".  The agency may choose its own name, but an easily   recognized acronym is suggested.  The following paragraphs enumerate   the types of agencies eligible for registration and the types that   are not eligible:         1) The document "Codes for the Identification of Federal and      Federally Assisted Organizations", FIPS 95-1 (or its successor)      lists the official names of US Government agencies.  Either that      document or the US Government Manual can be used to determine that      an entity is eligible for registration as a second level domain of      .GOV.              A) Top-level entities (e.g., those in FIPS 95-1 with codes         ending in 00 such a"1200 Department of Agriculture"), those in         the US Government Manual listed as "Departments, Independent         Establishments (not Corporations), and all the Boards,         Commissions, and Committees"), and independent agencies and         organizations (e.g., "National Science Foundation" and other         non-indented listings unless prohibited below) as listed in         this document are eligible for registration directly under         .GOV.              B) Cross-agency collaborative organizations (e.g.,         "Federal Networking Council", "Information Infrastructure Task         Force") are eligible for registration under .GOV upon         presentation of the chartering document and are the only non-         FIPS-listed or non-US-Government-Manual-listed organizations         eligible for registration under .GOV.              C) Subsidiary, non-autonomous components of top-level or         other entities are not eligible for separate registration.         International organizations listed in this document are NOT         eligible for registration under .GOV.  Subsidiary components         should register as third-level domains under their parent         organization.  Other Federal entities may apply to the FED.US         domain.Federal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 2]RFC 2146         U.S. Government Internet Domain Names          May 1997              D) Organizations listed as "Federally Aided Organizations"         in FIPS 95-1 are not eligible for registration under .GOV and         should register under .ORG or other appropriate top-level         domain that reflects their status.              E) Organizations subsidiary to "Department of Defense"         must register under the ".MIL" domain via the Defense Data         Network Information Center - contact registrar@nic.ddn.mil.              F) Other entities may be registered by request of a         cognizant Chief Information Officer (CIO); CIO's are those         agency officials designated by the agency head in accordance         with the requirements of the Information Technology Management         Reform Act of 1996 and Executive Order 13011.              G) Federal Courts constitute a special class of domains.         All Federal courts seeking domain registrations should contact         the Administrative Office of the US Courts for their guidance         on policy and naming.            a) The string "SUPREME-COURT" is reserved for the Supreme            Court domain.            b) All other courts and their officers and officials should            register in .USCOURTS.GOV.  The only standard exceptions to            these rules are changes to governmental structure due to            statutory, regulatory or executive directives not yet            reflected in the above document.  The requesting agency            should provide documentation in one of the above forms to            request an exception.  Other requests for exception should            be referred to the Federal Networking Council.         2) A domain name should be derived from the official name for      the organization (e.g., "USDA.Gov" or "AGRICULTURE.GOV".)  The      registration shall be listed in the registration database under      the official name (per FIPS 95-1 or US Government Manual) for the      organization or under the name in the chartering document.         3) Only ONE registration and delegation shall be made for the      purpose of identifying an agency.  The .GOV registration authority      shall provide registrations on a first-come first-served basis.      It is an individual agency matter as to which portion of the      agency is responsible for managing the domain space under a      delegated agency domain.Federal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 3]RFC 2146         U.S. Government Internet Domain Names          May 1997         4) Those agencies and entities that had multiple registrations      under .GOV may retain them until August 1998, but sub-delegations      will be permitted only under the one name chosen by the agency as      its permanent name.  As of August 1996, the auxiliary domains will      become un-delegated and will revert to the control of the .GOV      owner.  As of 2 August 1997, all registrations in the auxiliary      domains must be mirrored in the permanent domain and those names      should be used where possible. At the three year point, all      auxiliary domain registrations will be deleted (August 1998).         5) Those agencies and entities already registered in .GOV but      not listed in FIPS 95-1 (e.g., DOE labs, state entities) or the US      Government Manual may retain their registration within the      constraint of the single registration rule (see para 4).  No      further non-listed registrations will be made.  State and local      entities are strongly encouraged to re-register under .US, but      this is not mandatory.REFERENCES      [1] Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 95-1   (FIPS PUB 95-1), "Codes for the Identification of Federal and   Federally Assisted Organizations", U.S. Department of Commerce,   National Institute of Standards and Technology, January 4, 1993.      [2] Postel, J., "Domain Name System Structure and Delegation", RFC   1591, USC/Information Sciences Institute, March 1994.      [3] US Government Manual,  Office of the Federal Register,   National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC 20804.CLARIFICATION      * Registrations prior to August 1995 are grand-fathered and do NOT   require re-registration with the exception of duplicate registrations   for the SAME organization at the same level.  E.g., 2 registrations   that represent the Department of Transportation would be considered   duplicates.  Registrations for each of the Department of   Transportation and the FAA would not.  (The FAA is an autonomous   component contained within the DOT).      * The policy requires resolution of all duplicate registrations by   August 1998.Federal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 4]RFC 2146         U.S. Government Internet Domain Names          May 1997      * Local and state agencies registered under the ".GOV" domain may   remain there.  However, they are strongly encouraged to transfer to   the .US domain.      * Cross-agency collaborative efforts may register under "FED.US"   as an alternative to asking for an exception to the .GOV policy.FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS / ANSWERS   EXISTING .GOV REGISTRATIONS         Q.  What are examples of FIPS 95-1 Departments possessing      duplicate top-level domain names, and what guidance has been given      to them regarding these names?         A.  Examples of FIPS 95-1 Departments with duplicate DNS'      include "STATE.GOV" and "LABOR.GOV".  These departments had six      months (until December 1996) to determine which name is permanent      and which is auxiliary and three years to drop the auxiliary      registration.         Q.  Currently, our services are defined as www.cdc.gov,      ftp.cdc.gov,  and gopher.cdc.gov.  Does this proposal mean that      our names will now be: www.ntb.ops.cdc.phs.dhhs.gov, etc or at a      minimum: www.cdc.phs.dhhs.gov, ftp.cdc.phs.dhhs.gov, and      gopher.cdc.phs.dhhs.gov?         A.  In the case of CDC, NIST, NIH, FDA, and the numerous other      non-FIPS-95-1 agencies registered with ".GOV" domains, there will      be no changes.  The existing DNS' of these agencies are grand-      fathered under this policy.  In addition, the policy effects only      the domains allowed to be registered directly under .GOV; further      delegations are under the control of the sub-domain owner.  For      the above, assuming the HHS sub-domain owner concurs, there is no      problem with the HHS registering "cdc.dhhs.gov" as a sub-domain of      "dhhs.gov".Federal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 5]RFC 2146         U.S. Government Internet Domain Names          May 1997         Q.  How will registrations by Federal Laboratories be      addressed?         A. The existing domain names will be grand-fathered, i.e.,      LBL.GOV.  Any new registrations will generally be within the      domain of the sponsoring agency (and subject to agency policies),      within the .US domain as a geographic entity, or within the FED.US      domain.         Q.  What are some examples of state government agencies      registered under ".GOV" domain?  Will they need to change their      DNS?         A.  Examples of cities and states that originally registered      under the .GOV include:  WA.GOV Department of Information      Services, State of Washington LA.GOV Bureau of Sanitation, City of      Los Angeles These entities are strongly encouraged to re-register      in the .US domain but this is NOT mandatory.  No further state and      local agencies will be registered under .GOV.         Q.  It is not in anyone's best interest to name things by      organizational boundaries as these things change. Internet domain      names and host names, once defined and used, become so widely      distributed that they become virtually impossible to change.         A.  The policy does not require organizations to change their      names once established, but individual agency policies may.  The      DNS system contains some capabilities to assist in name transition      - the CNAME record provides a capability for cross-domain aliases      which can be used to ease a transition between one name space and      another.  As noted in the clarifications, naming and sub-domain      conventions WITHIN an agency or department DNS delegation are      solely the province of that entity.Federal Networking Council   Informational                      [Page 6]