Network, Computer and Programming Resources

Network - Domain

In both the Internet and OSI (Open System Interconnection) communities, the term domain refers to an administrative unit. The details of such a unit, however, differ in the Internet and OSI environments. In the Internet community, a domain is an element in the DNS (Domain Naming System), which is a naming hierarchy. See the DNS article for more information about Internet domains. In the OSI community, a domain is also a division created for administrative purposes. In this context, the details are based on functional differences. The five management domains defined in the OSI model are accounting, configuration, fault, performance, and security. See the Network Management article for more information about these domains. The term has several other meanings in different networking contexts: n In IBM's SNA (Systems Network Architecture), a domain represents all the terminals and other resources controlled by a single processor or processor group. n In Novell's NNS (NetWare Name Service), the collection of servers that share bindery information constitutes a domain. n In NetWare 4.x, a domain is a special area in which an NLM (NetWare Loadable Module) can run. NetWare 4.x actually has two domains for NLMs: OS_PROTECTED and OS. In the OS_PROTECTED domain, you can run untested NLMs to ensure that they do not corrupt the operating system memory. The OS domain is where NLMs that are proven reliable can run more efficiently. SEE ALSO DNS (Domain Naming System); Network Management