Hostname

A hostname (sometimes also, a sitename) is the exceptional name by which a network-attached device (which could consist of a laptop or computer, file server, network storage device, fax machine, copier, cable modem, etc.) is recognized on a network. The hostname is utilized to identify a specific host in various forms of electronic communication like the Globe Wide Internet, e-mail or Usenet.

Online, the terms "hostname" and "domain name" are usually used interchangeably, but you will discover subtle technical variations among them.

Hostnames are employed by several naming systems, NIS, DNS, SMB, etc., and so the which means on the word hostname will vary based on naming system in question, which in turn varies by sort of network. A hostname meaningful to a Microsoft NetBIOS workgroup might be an invalid World wide web hostname. When presented having a hostname and no context, it really is generally protected to assume that the network could be the Online and DNS is definitely the hostname's naming program.

Host names are commonly employed in an administrative capacity and may possibly appear in computer system browser lists, active directory lists, IP address to hostname resolutions, e mail headers, and so on. They may be human-readable nick-names, which ultimately correspond to special network hardware MAC addresses. In some situations the host name might contain embedded domain names and/or places, non-dotted IP addresses, and so on.

On a uncomplicated local place network, a hostname is usually a single word: as an example, an organization's CVS server could be named "cvs" or "server-1".

RFC

• RFC 952 - "DoD Internet host table specification."
• RFC 1034 - "DOMAIN NAMES - CONCEPTS AND FACILITIES" (In particular, section 3.5)
• RFC 1035 - "DOMAIN NAMES - IMPLEMENTATION AND SPECIFICATION" (In particular, section 2.3.1)
• RFC 1123 - "Requirements for Internet Hosts - Application and Support."
• RFC 1178 - "Choosing a Name for Your Computer"
• RFC 3696 - "Application Techniques for Checking and Transformation of Names"

This article was originally based on material from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, which is licensed under the GFDL.