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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!ucbvax!ucdavis!lll-crg!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!Rudy.Nedved@cmu-cs-a.ARPA
From: Rudy.Nedved@cmu-cs-a.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.mail.headers
Subject: domains
Message-ID: <2163@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 16-Oct-85 02:31:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.2163
Posted: Wed Oct 16 02:31:28 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 18-Oct-85 20:05:20 EDT
Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA
Lines: 34

First off, the domain system is a step in the right direction as compared
to the centralized host table mechanism. Just like in the telephone system,
you call the area code you are interested in, specify the city and then
query about a name for a telephone number. It would be unmanageable and
extremely slow to have a centralized telephone directory.

Second, the point about domains is an experiment is misleading. The subtle
issue here is that the research side of the ARPA Internet known as
ARPANET has somewhat formally adopted domains. This is almost a given. Life
does not contain absolutes so people can say otherwise. The production side
of the ARPA Internet known as MILNET has formally indicated in one of
the implementation notes a "wait and see" with no commitment. In other words,
while the ARPANET is fighting over domains...they can continuing doing
work....which is a good for a production enviroment...they can not fight
with the problems...they have other problems.

Third, the hosts in the domain system but not in the old host table are
not incorrect or illegal as far as any specification is concerned. The
real question is one of practicality. If a non-domain system host MUST
talk to a host not listed in the domain system, then the postmasters
involved or liaisons should communicate and find a solution. If these
types of comprimises don't exist then the ARPANET can not experiment and
the MILNET can not get work done.

Given I live and maintain a very large and rapidly expanding computer
system enviroment, I have to deal with both of these issues every day.
At the moment, CS is experimenting and developing solutions to problems
and creating reliable software. If other departments want to add
people or systems to our experiements...great. When we feel things are
at a production level then we expand man power and other resources to
get the system installed all over. This seems to be the same thing the
ARPA Internet is doing in a larger scale...

-Rudy