ARCHIVED: About the Virtual Hostname Request form

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General naming conventions

A virtual hostname is one that substitutes for the actual hostname of a URL, making it easier for visitors to find websites by offering a shorter, more intuitive URL. The web server recognizes the virtual hostname and associates it with an alternative root document directory. For more, see ARCHIVED: About virtual hostnames on Webserve.

Note:

Due to the evolving coronavirus situation, the retirement of Webserve was delayed until April 16 to allow classes that reference sites on Webserve to continue with minimal disruption.

All remaining Webserve sites were disabled beginning April 16, along with login access to webserve.iu.edu. If you have websites that still need to be moved to IU Sitehosting, you should migrate immediately.

Service and host naming reflects on the university, the campus, and the department or agency. Selected names must be specific enough to accurately characterize the entity or service being represented without confusion with other services, and must be professional and non-controversial. Furthermore:

A second-level domain must be unique within a top-level domain.
A subdomain (server/hostname) must be unique within its parent second-level domains.

Because all Indiana University campuses, departments, and services are subsets of the entire IU environment, central DNS support for naming will be consistent with information cited in DNS policies at IU.

IU Studios will review requests for naming, including requests for .org, .net, and .info. Include a detailed description of the service and an explanation of how it meets the criteria above.

Notes:

Processing the request takes three to five business days.
Additions and changes to virtual hosts are not made on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
Registration and activation of your virtual host address requires an overnight server reload.

To request a virtual hostname, submit the Domain and virtual host request form.

To request a virtual hostname for sites hosted on Webserve, submit a Virtual Host Name Request.