Re: 26 char domains vs. 67 char domains

From: Dick St.Peters (stpeters@NetHeaven.com)
Date: Fri Dec 10 1999 - 11:31:25 EST


> NetSol discontinued the _ character as allowable in domains a while back.
> Will this restriction continue with OpenSRS?
>
> On I related note (And I am not saying I want to see this done in
> OpenSRS), Do people realize it is technically possible to put ANY
> character in a hostname? I have had some fun with this in the past, it
> blows some minds.

The allowed character set for domain names is specified in one of the
RFCs to be letters, digits, the hyphen ("-"), and (for separating
fields only), the period ("."). (Sorry, I don't remember the RFC
number offhand, look in the BIND source distribution CHANGES file.)

BIND enforces this, but some nameserver software doesn't. Every once
in awhile someone puts an underscore in a hostname or subdomain and
discovers that many sites - those requiring that a domain name be
resolvable - will no longer accept their mail.

--
Dick St.Peters, stpeters@NetHeaven.com 
Gatekeeper, NetHeaven, Saratoga Springs, NY
Saratoga/Albany/Amsterdam/BoltonLanding/Cobleskill/Greenwich/
GlensFalls/LakePlacid/NorthCreek/Plattsburgh/...
    Oldest Internet service based in the Adirondack-Albany region



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