Network domain

{{Short description|Grouping of computer networks or hosts}}

{{for|the top-level Internet domain|.network}}{{confused|.net domain}}

A network domain is an administrative grouping of multiple private computer networks or local hosts within the same infrastructure.

Compare: {{cite book

| last1 = Anderson

| first1 = Howard

| last2 = Yull

| first2 = Sharon

| last3 = Hellingsworth

| first3 = Bruce

| year = 2001

| title = Higher National Computing

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7p6tXtEXfIC

| edition = 2

| location = Oxford

| publisher = Routledge

| publication-date = 2004

| page = 260

| isbn = 9781136398988

| accessdate = 2015-08-18

| quote = A network domain is more formally defined as a group for servers controlled by a primary domain controller. The idea is that this group of servers can behave as a single combined unit.

}}

Compare:

{{cite book

| last1 = Chen

| first1 = Lidong

| last2 = Gong

| first2 = Guang

| author2-link = Guang Gong

| title = Communication System Security

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ooDV8MQiO_cC

| series = Chapman & Hall/CRC Cryptography and Network Security Series

| date = 29 May 2012

| publisher = CRC Press

| publication-date = 2012

| page = 313

| isbn = 9781439840368

| accessdate = 2015-08-18

| quote = The terminology, network domain, comes from the cellular systems. Traditionally, a cellular service provider owns not only radio frequency spectrums but also certain network infrastructure, for example, base stations, switches, and servers. All these entities are connected through wired network to provide telephony service. A network domain is the wired portion of an operator's network.

}}

{{Cite web|url=https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc920.txt|title=RFC: 920 - Domain Requirements|last=Postel|first=J|date=October 1984|website=Internet Engineering Task Force|access-date=27 January 2019|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112055314/https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc920.txt|url-status=live}} Domains can be identified using a domain name; domains which need to be accessible from the public Internet can be assigned a globally unique name within the Domain Name System (DNS).

A domain controller is a server that automates the logins, user groups, and architecture of a domain, rather than manually coding this information on each host in the domain. It is common practice, but not required, to have the domain controller act as a DNS server.{{Cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-r2-and-2008/cc732715(v%3dws.11)|title=Planning DNS Servers|last=Archiveddocs|website=docs.microsoft.com|language=en-us|access-date=2019-01-27|archive-date=2019-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128083014/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-r2-and-2008/cc732715(v%3dws.11)|url-status=live}} That is, it would assign names to hosts in the network based on their IP addresses.