RFC 921 (rfc921) - Page 2 of 13
Domain name system implementation schedule - revised
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 921 October 1984 Domain Implementation Schedule - Revised elements (or components) of the structured names are separated with periods, and the elements are written from the most specific on the left to the most general on the right. For example: USC-ISIF.ARPA The Initial and Temporary Domain The introduction of these hierarchical names has been very limited. Every current name in this new system has the form "old-simple-name.ARPA". That is, the all the hosts are in a domain called "ARPA". This is a temporary situation. The current intention is for the ARPA domain to cease to exist. This means that all hosts will change their names as the domain style names come into full use. Name to Address Lookup Every host in the Internet is expected to have a way of translating the name of any other host into its Internet address. By and large, the name to address translation is done by looking up the information in a table of all hosts. The maintenance of this table is centralized at the Network Information Center (NIC). Each host is expected to obtain a current copy of the table on a timely basis. This table is called "HOSTS.TXT" [8] and is normally accessed via the Hostnames Server [9]. Interface to the World A great deal of mail moves between the Internet and other "systems" that somehow transport mail among computers. This is currently done by hiding some sort of "other-system" addressing information in the local-part of the mail address and using a mail-relay host in the host-part of the mailbox. For example, OBERST%EDUCOM.MAILNET@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA EDMISTON.CIC@CSNET-RELAY.ARPA Postel
