RFC 810 (rfc810) - Page 1 of 8
DoD Internet host table specification
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Elizabeth Feinler RFC 810
Ken Harrenstien 1 March 1982
Zaw-Sing Su References: RFC 811, 796
Vic White Obsoletes: RFC 608
Network Information Center
SRI International
DoD INTERNET HOST TABLE SPECIFICATION
INTRODUCTION
The ARPANET Official Network Host Table, as outlined in RFC 608, no
longer suits the needs of the DoD community, nor does it follow a
format suitable for internetting. This paper specifies a new host
table format applicable to both ARPANET and Internet needs.
In addition to host name to host address translation and selected
protocol information, we have also included network and gateway name
to address correspondence, and host operating system information.
This Host Table is utilized by the DoD Host Name Server maintained by
the ARPANET Network Information Center (NIC) on behalf of the Defense
Communications Agency (DCA) (RFC 811). It obsoletes the host table
described in RFC 608.
LOCATION OF THE STANDARD DoD ONLINE HOST TABLE
A machine-translatable ASCII text version of the new DoD Host Table
is online in the file HOSTS.TXT on the SRI-NIC host. It can
be obtained by connecting to host SRI-NIC (10.0.0.73) from your local
FTP server, logging in as user=ANONYMOUS, password=GUEST, and doing a
'get' on HOSTS.TXT. The same table may also be obtained via
the NIC Host Name Server.
NOTE: See Appendix A. for timeframe for cutover.
ASSUMPTIONS
1. 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), and the
minus sign (-) and period (.). 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 a letter. The last
character must not be a minus sign or period. A host which serves as
a GATEWAY should have "-GATEWAY" or "-GW" as part of its name. A
host which is a TIP or a TAC should have "-TIP" or "-TAC" as part of
its host name, if it is an ARPANET or DoD host.
2. Internet Addresses are 32-bit addresses (RFC 796). In the host
table described herein each address is represented by four decimal
numbers separated by a period. Each decimal number represents 1
octet.