A/UX: Domain Names: Plus Sign (+) not Allowed (9/94)


I have a Macintosh IIx running A/UX that is connected to an Internet
consisting of Sun and VAX servers with several kinds of workstations. The
problem is that I must begin my domain name with the plus sign (+), and A/UX does not recognize the plus sign as part of the name.

Do you know of a fix for this problem?

Naming conventions for Domain, Host, Net, and Gateway should follow the rules
specified in RFC (Request For Comments) 952. Here is part of RFC-952 regarding
the naming convention on the Internet:

A "name" (Net, Host, Gateway, or Domain name) is a text string up to 24
characters drawn from the alphabet (A-Z), digits (0-9), minus sign (-), and
period(.). Note that periods are only allowed when they serve to delimit
components of "domain style names". No blank or space characters are
permitted as part of a name. No distinction is made between upper and lower
case. The first character must be an alpha character. The last character
must not be a minus sign or period.

Apparently, a domain name beginning with the plus sign (+) violates the RFC-952
naming convention. We think that A/UX "BIND" (Berkeley Internet Name Domain)
follows the naming convention described in RFC-952; the plus sign (+) is not
allowed in the domain name.

We don't think there is a workaround on A/UX, unless the customer name server
host follows the RFC-952 naming convention.

Article Change History:
20 Sep 1994 - Reviewed.
31 Aug 1992 - REVIEWED For technical accuracy.

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Published Date: Feb 18, 2012