Examples of domain names to be registered or recorded at Cornell

bigstuff.cornell.edu

- must be registered because it is a three-part domain name (see glossary) ending with "cornell.edu"

www.bigstuff.cornell.edu

- can be created by the college or department that has registered bigstuff.cornell.edu
- does not need a separate entry in the registry because it is a four-part domain name

server3.dept.cornell.edu

- does not need its own registry entry as long as dept.cornell.edu is registered
- is the standard style of name for an individual computer or host

birdsource.org or sharedresearch.info or marysmith.us etc.

Any domain name not ending with "cornell.edu"
- must be registered if its domain name service is provided by Cornell's domain name servers
- otherwise must be recorded if purchased with university funds or if running on a university-owned computer

Hierarchy of Domain Names

A top-level domain name is never used by itself. It is always combined with at least a second-level domain name.

The second-level domain name "cornell.edu" is owned and managed by Cornell University. No one outside Cornell can assign domain names in the cornell.edu hierarchy. Cornell's domain name manager can assign names within the cornell.edu hierarchy without consulting any outside authority.

Each college, school, administrative department, or other unit has its own third-level domain name, such as arts.cornell.edu. The unit may make its own rules for assigning four-part domain names, such as www.arts.cornell.edu, within the unit's third-level domain.

Related Links

• The Domain Name System: A Non-Technical Explanation - Why Universal Resolvability Is Important
• Carnegie Mellon's CMU.EDU Third Level Domain Guideline

Last updated: May 25, 2007