Network Exemptions and DNS/IP Requests

Firewall/ACL Exemptions

To request firewall/ACL settings for servers, appliances, or devices on the University network, please submit your request via Help Desk Self Service.

DNS and Static IP Requests

For DNS or Static IP requests, please submit your request via Help Desk Self Service.

Domain Name and Hostname Procedures

The following guidelines will help you determine whether your department, organization, or group is eligible to apply for a Domain Name or Hostname. Refer questions concerning these guidelines to the Trademark Licensing Director (General Counsel), or the Office of Communications and Marketing.

Definitions

• Domain Name: A domain name is a series of characters that provides a label to identify an organization on the Internet. The use of domain names is is to provide easily recognizable and memorizable names to numerically addressed Internet resources. boisestate.edu is a domain name.
• Hostname: A hostname is a label that is assigned to a device that is connected to a computer network that is used to identify the device in various forms of electronic communication such as the World Wide Web, email, FTP-site, etc. (e.g., name.boisestate.edu).
• URL: A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) that specifies where an identified resource is available and the mechanism for retrieving it. The best known example of a URL is the “address” of a webpage on the World Wide Web, e.g., https://www.boisestate.edu. A URL is the combination of a hostname, a domain name and the scheme name to identify what protocol to access the file. Examples of scheme names are http, https, ftp, ftps, gopher, ldap, telnet.

Use of the University Name

Official university names are trade names that communicate the university’s image and reputation to the public (e.g., Boise State University, Boise State). To ensure that trade names are used appropriately and in alignment with institutional goals, the university has established guidelines concerning the use of the boisestate.edu domain name and other domain names that reference the University.

More information is available on the Boise State Brand Standards website.

Requesting a boisestate.edu Hostname for URLs

Campus units or entities that meet the criteria below may apply for a hostname within the Boise State domain, such as boisestate.edu/department.

Units/entities that do not qualify for a hostname may still be eligible for a shorter name or address, such as boisestate.edu/program.

Naming Guidelines

Requests for hostnames for URLs must meet the following guidelines:

• Names must consist of the format xxxxx.boisestate.edu.
• One name will be allowed per eligible unit or entity.
• Names should reasonably reflect the nature or purpose of the website (e.g., majorfinder.boisestate.edu).
• Names must consist of two or more letters (e.g., e.boisestate.edu is not acceptable).
• Alternatives
• The proposed name is not likely to be confused with a Boise State department or unit.

Entities that do not meet the criteria for unique hostname for URLs may still be eligible for an alternative name/address. Addresses for these sites should reflect their affiliation with an academic or administrative unit.

Examples include:

• boisestate.edu/department-program-name
• boisestate.edu/college-program-name

These types of URLs are appropriate for academic programs, advising centers, and services offered within a unit.

To request an alternative name/address such as those listed above, contact the Help Desk.

Exceptions

Exceptions to this guideline can only be authorized by the Director of Trademark Licensing or Executive Director of University Web Strategy in the Office of Information Technology.

Exceptions for unique hostnames for URLs within the boisestate.edu domain may be allowed only if all of the following conditions are met:

• The proposed name is not likely to be confused with a Boise State department or unit.
• The proposed name will be used by many people from many different organizations either within or outside the university. (Example: canvas.boisestate.edu, which is the university’s official Canvas site.)
• The proposed name is the name of a service and not the name of a department or other organizational unit. (Example: my.boisestate.edu, which encompasses a variety of services offered at the beginning of each semester and which involves participation by the entire university community)
• The proposed name is for a university-wide service or institutional initiative that is not easily identified with a single department or unit, or it is for a service that is being offered primarily to people or groups that are outside the university and who are not likely to be familiar with the details of the university’s internal organizational structure. (Examples: campaign.boisestate.edu, maps.boisestate.edu)
• The proposed name is a generally accepted hostname across other domain names providing an expected service. (Example: maps.boisestate.edu)
• The proposed name is not likely to be the subject of frequent changes that would be better dealt with at the department/unit level.
• The placement of the proposed name as a hostname within boisestate.edu has the approval of the unit administrator of the school, college, institute, or unit to which the name would otherwise be associated.

Requesting a boisestate.edu Hostname for Servers

Servers and other unique electronic components that require a static IP, will require a unique hostname in DNS. These hostnames are usually names that are hidden from a normal computer users.

Hostnames for Servers

The following are not allowed in Hostnames

• Personal Names (Example: Joe-Smith-Server)
• Vulgarity
• A word or phrase that could be construed as offensive
• Conflict in the use of a hostname for servers

The issue of a hostname in DNS for servers will follow the “First in Time, First in Right” rule.

If a later requester feels entitled to a previously issued hostname, it is up to the requester and the current user of the hostname to come to an agreement on its use. The Office of Information Technology will not be involved in a dispute between two parties and the ownership of a hostname.

Non-Boise State Domain Names

Boise State funds should not be used to purchase domain or hosting services from Internet Service Providers or Hosting Services. Exceptions to this rule must be made in advance, prior to obligating the University to pay for these services.

Boise State funds should not generally be used to purchase or fund non-Boise State educational domains, nor should it host commercial (“.com”), network service (“net”), or other newly defined domain types. Exceptions may be made for an organization with direct ties to the University.

Boise State may agree to host special non-profit (“.org”) domains, but only if the parent organization of the dot-org domain has a specific connection to the university and the University feels there is a mutually beneficial result obtained from the hosting.

Submit a Request

To request a hostname on the boisestate.edu domain, or alternative URL, submit a DNS name request using Help Desk Self Service.

Please provide the following information:

• Details about what service(s) this is for (e.g., “a web server that will be host the geoscience department website,” rather than a vague description such as “a web server”).
• Target audience (e.g., Boise State faculty and staff, the media, the public at large, professors within the education college, etc.)
• Principal technical person responsible for the service. (Provide name, phone number, and e-mail.)
• If requester is not a Boise State employee, name of the Boise State employee sponsoring the service. (Provide sponsor’s name, phone number, and e-mail.)