Standards Review and Recommendation Publication
SRRPUB07
Internet Domain Names for Government Entities in Texas
Revised May 19, 2003 Version 3.0
The Department of Information Resources (DIR) issues Standards
Review and Recommendations Publications (SRRPUB) as guidelines
for Texas state agencies and institutions of higher education.
The original version of this guideline was published in September
1995, and is currently being revised to address changes in
the use of the dot-us and dot-gov domains.
Executive Summary
Texas legislation requires that every state agency establish
a web presence and shall design the generally accessible Internet
site so that it conforms to generally acceptable standards
for Internet accessibility for people with disabilities. Additional
requirements are covered in the Texas Administrative Code
§206 State Web Sites. Information
about establishing a Web site, and assistance for small agencies,
are available in the World Wide Web
Design Standards and Coding Guidelines.
State agencies connected to the Internet or using Internet
protocols (TCP/IP) must use the Internet Domain Naming System
(DNS) to associate computer names with IP addresses. Request
for Comments (RFC)1480 addresses the use of the "state.tx.us"
for state agencies, and this domain is managed by DIR.
For historic reasons, several Texas state agencies use the
"texas.gov" domain, also managed by DIR, and may continue
to maintain a texas.gov domain. Additional use under the dot-us
domain, the dot-gov domain,
and other domain names are discussed below, however each agency
must consider the long term cost associated with registering
under multiple domain names (e.g., dot-tx.us, dot-com...),
and the associated risks.
Recommendations
1. All agency Web Sites should follow RFC
1480 and §206 State Web Sites.
2. The CIO of an agency that wants to register under the
tx.gov Domain, should send an e-mail request to SI@dir.state.tx.us with justification (e.g., the Domain name is being used by
other states). The agency must maintain its primary Domain
name in compliance with RFC 1480.
3. Agencies that want to register under a dot-gov domain
name not managed by DIR, and that requires a letter from the
State CIO, should send a request with justification to dirinfo@dir.state.tx.us
prior to starting the registration process with the General
Services Administration.
Background
Standards
Standards for the Internet are published as Request for Comments
(RFC) documents and maintained by the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF) at http://www.ietf.org/rfc. Specific Domain
Name System (DNS) standards are specified in Internet RFC
1035 -- Domain names - implementation and specification,
RFC 1034 -- Domain names
- concepts and facilities, RFC
1480 -- The US Domain, RFC
1591 -- Domain Name System Structure and Delegation and,
RFC 2146 --
U.S. Government Internet Domain Names or their successor documents.
State Agencies and the "state.tx.us" Domain
Under RFC 1480, the domain name form/zone "state.tx.us" was
reserved for the use of Texas agencies, and is currently managed
by the TEXas Agency Network (TEX-AN) Network Operations Center
(NOC).
Higher Education
Based on RFC
1480, four year colleges and universities should continue
using the .edu domain.
Registrations for other Government Entities in Texas
Based on RFC
1480, local government entities should use the following
domain registrations:
Counties http://www.co.county name.tx.us (e.g., http://www.co.jefferson.tx.us)
City governments should use http://www.ci.city name.tx.us
(e.g., http://www.ci.austin.tx.us)
Councils of Governments should use http://www.name.cog.tx.us
(e.g., http://www.prpc.cog.tx.us)
DOT-GOV Domain
In 2002, the General Services Administration (GSA) opened
the dot-gov domain (e.g., texas.gov and tx.gov), to state
and local governments. Both texas.gov and tx.gov have been
delegated to the state CIO. At this time we do not recommend
expanding the use of the texas.gov domain. However, in some
cases an agency may propose using a tx.gov name for a special
program. The CIO of an agency that wants to register under
the tx.gov Domain, should send an e-mail request to SI@dir.state.tx.us
with justification (e.g., the Domain name is being used by
other states). The agency must maintain its primary Domain
name in compliance with RFC 1480. For technical assistance,
contact the CAPnet Network Operations Center (NOC) Help Desk
512-475-2432, or e-mail registrar@capnet.state.tx.us.
Agencies that want to register under a dot-gov domain name
not managed by DIR, and that requires a letter from the State
CIO, the agency CIO should send a request with justification
to SI@dir.state.tx.us
prior to starting the registration process with the General
Services Administration. A letter from the State CIO will
only be provided if the primary registration complies with
RFC 1480 and the site complies with §206 State Web Sites.
The Use of DOT-COM, DOT-NET and Other Domain Names
Some agencies may also consider registering key names (e.g.,
TexasOnLine) under other domain names to protect from misrepresentation.
However, each agency must consider the long term cost associated
with registering under different domain names (e.g., dot-com),
and the associated risk. Domain names open to the general
public (dot-com, dot-us, etc...) that are not renewed are
often obtained by pornographic sites. As one example, a state
agency obtained a dot-com domain name for a special statewide
program and many state agencies and universities provided
links to the site. When the program ended the agency did not
renew the special domain name, and suddenly agencies started
receiving calls and messages about why their site was providing
a link to pornography.
Registration Assistance
State Agencies
Registration authority for names within the .STATE.TX.US zone
is with Department of Information Resources (DIR) Telecommunications
Division. The registration form for state agencies can be
found at: http://www.capnet.state.tx.us#regforms.
Contact the CAPnet Network Operations Center (NOC) Help Desk
512-475-2432, or e-mail registrar@capnet.state.tx.us.
The CAPnet NOC will provide assistance with DNS questions,
on a time-available basis, pertaining to governmental agencies
and entities who are in the process of registering within
the STATE.TX.US zone.
Cities and Counties in the .TX.US zone.
There is no single authority responsible for registering all
the Texas cities and counties in .TX.US. If your Internet
Service Provider is unable to determine the proper registration
authority for you, please contact the CAPnet Network Operations
Center (NOC) Help Desk 512-475-2432, or e-mail registrar@capnet.state.tx.us.
Councils of Government Registering within the .COG.TX.US
zone.
Councils of Government should acquire domain names within
the .cog.tx.us zone. Registration for the COGs is handled
by the CAPnet Network Operations Center. The registration
form for Councils of Government can be found at http://www.capnet.state.tx.us#regforms.
The County Information Resources Agency (CIRA) also provides
registration and hosting services for members. For additional
information visit http://www.cira.state.tx.us/services.html
Other Information and Resources
Government entities (public institutions of higher learning
(e.g., state and community colleges and universities), independent
school districts (e.g., public schools, grades K-12), special
districts created by Texas state law (e.g., municipal water
districts), city and county governments, entities owned by
or a part of a city or county taxing authority (e.g., public
libraries)) may use TEXAN telecommunications services. For
additional information and a listing of services see http://www.dir.state.tx.us/tex-an/index.htm
1
T.A.C. §206 State Web Sites
§206.5 Linking and Indexing State Web Sites
A FAQ is available at http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/S206-FAQ.htm
A Model Accessibility Policy is available at http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/srrpub11-accessibility-policy.htm
A Check List is available at http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/S206_Check-list.htm
SRRPUB11 World Wide Web Design Standards
and Coding Guidelines
Section on Accessibility and Usability http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/srrpub11-accessibility.htm
Section on Privacy and Security Policies http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/srrpub11-privacy-policy.htm
also contains a Model Privacy and Security Policy
Section on Transaction Risk Assessments http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/srrpub11-transaction-risk.htm
Section on Required Links and Information on State Agency
Web Sites http://www.dir.state.tx.us/standards/srrpub11-linking-indexing.htm
Address questions about the Texas Information Technology
Standards Web pages to:
Barbara Nadalini
512-463-5360, phone
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