DNS Request Help & FAQ

When should I submit an 'Update' form for my host(s)?

You should submit an 'Update' form anytime a host's primary user changes.
You should also submit an 'Update' form anytime a host's ethernet address changes.
Generally, a host's ethernet address will change anytime it's network hardware is changed. This can occur either because the computer itself has been upgraded to a newer machine, or because it's network card specifically has been replaced.

Why should I submit an 'Update' form for my host(s)?

Data Network Operations and Network Security personel rely on on the contact information provided by IP registration and update forms to notify users in the event of a network related problem. If current contact information for a host cannot be found, there is often no recourse but to disable its network port and wait for a user to 'phone it in'.

Data Network Operations also relies on the ethernet addresses submitted via IP registration and update forms to arbitrate in the case of IP conflicts. If no ethernet address is registered for a host and an IP conflict does occur, there is often no simple way to discern who the proper user of the IP is.

When should I submit a 'Relocate' form for my host(s)?

You should submit an 'Relocate' form anytime a host moves from one physical location to another.

Why should I submit a 'Relocate' form for my host(s)?

The University of Chicago's data network is divided into many parts based roughly on physical location and/or University department. Each piece of the network is assigned it's own range of IP addresses. Only IP addresses from the assigned range will work on a given part of the network. Hence, when a computer is moved from one part of the campus to another, it needs to be assigned a new IP address. This is often true even in the case of relatively small moves such as moving from one floor to another within the same building. Obtaining a new IP address for a relocated host can only be done by submitting a 'Relocate' form for it.

When should I submit a 'Delete' request for my host(s)?

You should submit a 'Delete' request anytime a host is removed from the network and it's hostname retired from use.
You should NOT submit a 'Delete' request when a computer is replaced by new hardware but still retains the same hostname. Please use the 'Update' form to register changes of this nature with Data Network Operations.

Why should I submit a 'Delete' request for my host(s)?

IP addresses are a limited resource. We are running out of IP addresses on several subnets at the University. By un-registering a host when it is no longer in use, you make that IP address available for others to use.

What is a 10.135 host IP?

A 10.135 host IP is an IP address in the range 10.135.0.0.
Normal uchicago.edu host IPs are in the range 128.135.0.0.
10.135 IP addresses are special campus-only addresses which are not Internet routable.
Hosts which use these IP addresses can ONLY communicate with other computers on the University of Chicago Data Network. They cannot reach off-campus web-sites, mail servers, file servers, etc.

Why should I request a 10.135 host IP?

10.135 host IP addresses are useful for printers and other network devices which only need to be contacted from within the University of Chicago Data Network.
While a regular uchicago.edu (128.135) ip address will work fine for these devices, a 10.135 ip address has the benefit of barring access to the device from off campus. In the case of a printer, this means that print jobs can only be sent to the printer from the campus network, thus preventing someone on the Internet from sending spurious jobs to the printer.
Laptops, Desktop Computers, and Servers are poor canidates for 10.135 IP addresses, since full Internet access is typically desirous for these types of hosts.

What is a cname?

Cname is short for canonical name. A cname is a DNS hostname which, instead of mapping to an IP address, maps to another DNS hostname.
When a nameserver recieves a request to convert a cname into an IP address, it responds with the IP address of the hostname to which the cname maps.
As an example, consider the hostname quads.uchicago.edu.
quads.uchicago.edu is a cname for harper.uchicago.edu.
harper.uchicago.edu has address 128.135.12.7
Thus, a request for the IP address of quads.uchicago.edu will yield 128.135.12.7.

Why create a cname?

Cnames are useful when it is desireable to have multiple hostnames resolve to the same IP address.
Generally, cnames are only of interest to systems administrators and other technical types. Most users will find no real reason to use cnames.

My request keeps getting rejected, what should I do?

Each type of DNS requests has it's own set of criteria which must be met before the request can be accepted for processing. If your request fails to meet the given criteria, you should be presented with a message explaining that your request has been rejected and explaining why. You should take the appropriate steps to fix your request and re-submit it.
If you are presented with a rejection notice which does not make sense to you, or you feel you have recieved a rejection notice in error, you should contact the uchicago.edu DNS administrators by sending email to noc@uchicago.edu.

I sumbitted my request, now what?

BE PATIENT!
Data Network Operations recieves an average of over fifty DNS related requests a day. While every effort has been made to automate our request system, there is still a certain amount of manual processing required for each DNS request. This manual element exists by design and is required to ensure the sanity of our DNS tables.
For this reason, you should typically expect a DNS request to take about a day to be processed, although more complex requests may take longer.
Please Note, that this may require a bit of foresight and planning on your part (such as requesting an IP several days before the new server arrives and must be up now, now, now!)

I don't have an Ethernet Address to give you because I don't have my computer yet, can I still register my host and get an IP for it?

Yes. This is what the field reading 'IF you cannot provide an ethernet address, please tell us why not:' underneath 'Ethernet Address' on the 'New Host Registration' form is for. Simply put a note in this field (such as "Computer ordered, has not arrived.") and your request will be accepted for processing as normal. Once your computer arrives, submit an 'Update' request for it providing the ethernet address.

DNS Request Form Fields

Submitter Information

Your name, phone number and email address. Who are you and how you can be reached in case of questions or confusion. The email address is required. Once your request is completed, you will be contacted via email.

Host user's information

Who actually sits in front of this machine? We need to be able to contact someone if something goes wrong with the machine in a way that affects the network, or conversely, if the network changes in a way that affects this machine. A machine room phone number will be appropriate for some locations.

Departmental Networking Contact

Name, phone number and email address of the person in the department who would take responsibility or would have knowledge about the status of the machine in the event that the responsible person or owner left the University.

Owner

What department of the University owns this machine?
If a department does not own the machine, what department is the machine's primary user most closely affiliated with?

Location

Where will this machine be installed? Give building name and room number, please. Also, please give us the jack number for the outlet where the machine will be plugged in. Most newly installed wiring does have the jack number identified, e.g. NB1, CF6, EB2. If the room number is included in the label on the jack, do not include it unless it is different than the actual room number.
Typical jack with jack number

Ethernet Address

A hardware ethernet address for the ethernet controller in your machine. This is a 12 digit hexadecimal number that is unique to each ethernet controller, e.g. 00019445063F, 0001:9445:063F, 00:01:94:45:06:3f. Please use the format xxxx.xxxx.xxxx although your card may be labelled differently.

Obtaining a Machine's Ethernet Address

If you have a Macintosh and have installed an ethercard and the MacTCP software and are connected to a live network connection, then open the MacTCP control panel from the Apple menu; then hold down the option key and click on the ethernet icon. The ethernet number will show up under the ethernet icon. Occasionally, on some macs, this does not work.

If you have a Macintosh with Open Transport, open TCP/IP in the Control Panels, select User Mode from the Edit menu. Then select "Advanced" from the three choices; click OK. Then open the INFO button in the lower left corner of the TCP/IP window. The ethernet Hardware address will then be presented.

If you have a machine running Windows 95/98, on the desktop click the START button. Next click the RUN button. In the RUN dialog, enter: "C:\windows\winipcfg". You will then recieve a dialog box with the "Adapter Address" which is the ethernet adapter address.

If you have a machine running Windows NT, 2000, or XP, on the desktop click the START button. Next click the RUN button. Next enter "cmd" and click OK. You will now have a command window. In the window, type "ipconfig /all". You will receive a printout of including "Physical Address". This is the ethernet address on your adapter.

If you have an MS-DOS machine, you will need to follow instructions that come with your ethernet card. For the SMC Elite card, run the DIAGNOSE program on the SuperDisk after you have put the card into your machine.

If you have a Unix workstation, the ethernet number is often displayed when booting the machine. On a system running SUNOS or SOLARIS, if you type the command "ifconfig -a", you will receive output including "ether nn:nn:nn:nn:nn:nn".

Computer Operating System

The operating system software run on this computer, e.g. System 7, DOS 6.0, Unix, Nextstep. For printers, use the word PRINTER to describe the operating system.

Computer Manufacturer

The computers' manufacturer, e.g. Sun, Dell, Apple.

Computer Model Number

The computers' model name/number, e.g. Macintosh/IICX, DELL 325SX, SPARCSTATION-10/30.

Computer CPU Type

The computers' CPU type, e.g. SPARC, 386, 64030, MIPS. This is primarily directed at machines with Intel processors.

Computer CPU Speed

The computers' CPU speed, e.g. 66Mhz, 25Mhz. This is primarily directed at machines with Intel processors.

Computer Serial Number

The computer serial number is usually found on the back of the equipment. This information is useful to the University when site licenses are obtained.

Hostname Requested

List the name you will give to the new machine. The full name will normally end with ".uchicago.edu". You need not include that part here. There are however several locations on campus that include different prefixes, e.g. bsd.uchicago.edu, spc.uchicago.edu, rh.uchicago.edu, and lib.uchicago.edu. If a machine will reside in one of those subdomains, please include the subdomain with the name. For example: hostname.bsd. The hostname may contain lower case letters, numbers, and hypens only. No capital letters and no underscores.

IP Subnet

The subnet number is the third octet in an ip address.
For example, the ip address 128.135.169.71 has a subnet number of 169.
The subnet to which your machine will be assigned is typically determined from its location, therefore it is generally ok to leave this field blank.
If, however, you have a particular subnet in mind for your new host, you should provide that subnet.

IP number requested (for net-admins only)

This field is for use by local network administrators who have special requests for particular IP numbers.

Email/MX Records

Does this machine support direct reception of electronic mail? (Look for the buzzwords "SMTP" or "sendmail".) If so, then provide the same hostname as requested in number 3 above. Most MS-DOS, Windows and Macintosh computers do NOT support direct reception of email. The email hostname(s) are used in the MX records of the Domain Name Server. System administrators who understand their use may supply multiple host names in priority fashion to be included in the DNS. If your computer will not directly receive email but will have another machine accepting mail for it please supply the host's name. You should not enter mx records for machines that are POPmail clients (using Eudora or NuPOP for example).