Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!rochester!pt.cs.cmu.edu!cadre!pitt!hoffman
From: hoffman@pitt.UUCP (Bob Hoffman)
Newsgroups: news.sysadmin
Subject: Re: Multiple Internet connections?
Message-ID: <5174@pitt.UUCP>
Date: 25 May 89 18:27:50 GMT
References: <1886@kodak.UUCP>
Reply-To: hoffman@vax.cs.pittsburgh.edu (Bob Hoffman)
Organization: Univ. of Pittsburgh Computer Science
Lines: 41

Paul F. Doering of Kodak asks about having multiple research sites
connected to different parts of the Internet.

This can be done easily.  In order to make sense of this, it is necessary
to understand that numeric internet addresses and domain names are
completely separate things.  Each research facility would apply for
a separate internet network number.  The company as a whole would
apply for a domain name, and would have complete freedom to assign
names under that.  In general, the network number is related to the
physical connection of the network and the domain name is related to the
organizational or political hierarchy of the company.

It is possible to have two different workstations in the same domain
but in geographically separate areas.  Example name server entries:

$ORIGIN plastics.poobarcorp.com.
hosta	IN	A	193.001.001.025
hostb	IN	A	193.001.002.037

In this example, class C networks 193.001.001.x and 193.001.002.x
may be half a continent apart, but the routing tables maintained by
the Internet will allow packets to be routed properly to each of them.
The fact that they have names within the same subdomain of poobarcorp.com
has no relevance whatsoever.


It is also possible for a company to apply for a single class-B
or class-A network number, but it is that company's responsibility
to provide complete connectivity between all parts of that network
internally.  It is not possible to have different pieces of the same
network connected to the Internet in different places.


I have only addressed the technical issues here.  The NSFnet or
regional network administrations probably have rules applying to
this situation.


-- 
Bob Hoffman, N3CVL       {allegra, bellcore, cadre, idis, psuvax1}!pitt!hoffman
Pitt Computer Science    hoffman@vax.cs.pittsburgh.edu