Transition of Nic Services
An announcement of the planned transfer of Network Information Center services.
Williamson, S. and L. Nobile, "Transition of Nic Services", RFC 1261, DOI 10.17487/RFC1261, September 1991, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1261>.
@misc{rfc1261,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 1261,
howpublished = {RFC 1261},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC1261},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1261},
author = {S. Williamson and L. Nobile},
title = {{Transition of Nic Services}},
pagetotal = 3,
year = 1991,
month = sep,
} RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group S. Williamson
Request for Comments: 1261 L. Nobile
Network Solutions
September 1991
TRANSITION OF NIC SERVICES
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard. Distribution of this memo is
unlimited.
Discussion
The transition of the Network Information Center from SRI
International in Menlo Park, CA, to Government Systems Inc. in
Chantilly, VA, is officially scheduled for 1 October 1991. This
includes the transition of services currently offered to DDN and
Internet users by SRI. These services include network/user
registration (i.e., network number and top level domain name
assignment), on-line information services, and Help Desk operations.
GSI will also continue RFC and Internet-Draft archive and
distribution services.
SRI will continue to provide all NIC services and respond to all user
calls and requests until 30 September 1991.
Defense Information System Agency (DISA) and GSI will make every
effort to ensure a smooth and timely transition of NIC services from
SRI. Network users should be minimally impacted. With a few minor
exceptions, all on-line services currently offered by SRI will appear
the same to the user when a connection is established to the new
(GSI) NIC host. These exceptions are due to the change from the
TOPS20 operating system to the SunOS operating system. The new NIC
host is a Sun 470 SPARCserver running SunOS 4.1. All users on the
DDN and the Internet should carefully note the following changes:
U.S. Postal Address: Government Systems, Inc.
Attn: Network Information Center
14200 Park Meadow Drive
Suite 200
Chantilly, VA 22021
Help Desk Telephone Numbers:
1-800-365-3642 (1-800-365-DNIC)
1-703-802-4535
Help Desk Hours of Operation:
7:00 am to 7:00 pm Eastern Time
Fax Number: 1-703-802-8376
Network Address: 192.112.36.5 (NIC.DDN.MIL)
Root Domain Server: 192.112.36.4 (NS.NIC.DDN.MIL)
During the period of 26 to 30 September 1991 the ID (WHOIS) database
will not be changed. All registration actions for this five day
period will be suspended. This action is necessary in order to
transfer the master database to GSI. Starting 26 September 1991, all
U.S. mail and fax requests should be directed to the GSI address and
fax number shown above. All electronic mail requests should continue
to be directed to the "HOSTMASTER" and "REGISTRAR" mailboxes at
NIC.DDN.MIL. As appropriate, SRI will redirect electronic mail to
GSI. On 1 October 1991 all registration activities will resume.
We hope that the transition and its accompanying changes will not
greatly inconvenience network users, and we thank you in advance for
your patience and understanding. For general questions regarding the
transition, users may call the new NIC Help Desk after September 1,
1991 at 1-800-365-3642/703-802-4535 or send an e-mail message to
nic@diis.ddn.mil.
Security Considerations
Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
Authors' Addresses
Scott Williamson
Network Solutions, Inc.
505 Huntmar Park Drive
Herndon, VA 22070
Phone: (703) 802-8405
EMail: scottw@DIIS.DDN.MIL
Leslie Nobile
Network Solutions, Inc.
505 Huntmar Park Drive
Herndon, VA 22070
Phone: (703) 802-8456
leslie@DIIS.DDN.MIL
ISO Plain Language
On this page
§1Services Moving to a New Provider
The Network Information Center transition from SRI International in Menlo Park to Government Systems Inc. in Chantilly was officially scheduled for October 1, 1991. The services included network and user registration, online information services, Help Desk operations, and RFC and Internet-Draft archive and distribution services.
SRI was to continue providing all NIC services and responding to user requests through September 30, 1991.
The memo announces a planned change in who provides NIC services. It lists the services involved and says SRI would continue handling them through September 30.
§3What Users Should Expect
The memo says most online services were expected to appear the same after users connected to the new NIC host. The stated exceptions were due to changing from TOPS20 to SunOS; the new host was a Sun 470 SPARCserver running SunOS 4.1.
It provides a new postal address, Help Desk phone numbers and hours, fax number, network address, and root domain server address.
Most online services were expected to look the same, although the host computer's operating system would change. The memo gives the new contact information.
§3Registration Pause During the Transfer
The ID (WHOIS) database was not to be changed from September 26 through September 30, 1991, and registration actions were suspended while the master database was transferred. Starting September 26, U.S. mail and fax requests were to go to GSI, while email requests continued to the HOSTMASTER and REGISTRAR mailboxes at NIC.DDN.MIL for forwarding as appropriate.
The memo says registration activities would resume on October 1, 1991.
Registration changes were scheduled to stop while the database moved. The RFC says they would resume when the new NIC took over.
§4Status of the Memo
RFC 1261 provides information about the planned transition and does not specify an Internet standard.
This is an informational transition announcement, not a technical standard.