Overview
Learn how to request and register a ucsd.edu or ucsandiego.edu domain name for a UC San Diego computer. Every machine (computer, server, printer, etc.) connected to UC San Diego's network must have an assigned IP address and domain name also called a domain name. Use these steps to register your domain name (machine) or to change existing names.
In the right place? If the domain name does not end in .ucsd.edu or .ucsandiego.edu, see Register a Non-UC San Diego Domain Name.
Critical Concepts
- Your system administrator usually is the approved representative to register names for all departmental machines.
- Names must not imply affiliation with other individuals, labs, or departments.
- Names cannot infringe on non-university trademarks.
Steps to Take
Review UCSD and department domain name policy
- Read Registration, Management, and Use of UC San Diego Domain Names: PPM 135-8 (PDF).
- For a standard UC San Diego domain name (ends in .ucsd.edu or .ucsandiego.edu), review sections III.B and III.C.
- Ensure you comply with your department's regulations when choosing and registering domain names by contacting your system administrator.
Choose your domain name
Use these guidelines when choosing an appropriate domain name:
- Servers and other machines offering services need names that make sense to the people using them. Names might include "www" plus:
- Your own name
- Project name
- Department name (e.g. www.cse.ucsd.edu)
- Lab name
- Names must not imply affiliation with other individuals, labs, or departments.
- Names cannot infringe on non-university trademarks.
Register your domain name
If you meet the requirements above, you can either:
- Register a new machine (lacks an existing IP address and domain name):
- Contact your department's system administrator. Many system administrators handle IP and domain registration for their local areas.
- If your department does not have a system administrator, fill out a registration form with the Hostmaster for each computer you wish to register. ITS will e-mail your IP address(es) and name(s) to you. If you are registering more than 2 machines, use bulk registration instead.
- If you're not sure who to contact or how to proceed, contact the ITS Service Desk.
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- Make changes to a registered machine.
Contact the Hostmaster to:
- Change a machine's existing name. (Include its IP address in your request.)
- Request additional names (in DNS terms, "A records" or "CNAMEs").
Pointing a UC San Diego domain name off campus
- The process outlined in Registration, Management, and Use of UC San Diego Domain Names: PPM 135-8 (PDF) for pointing a UC San Diego name off campus is suspended until the policy is updated.
- In order to point a UC San Diego domain name to a site at a different educational institution or non-profit for the purpose of a joint project, contact the Hostmaster and explain the circumstances. No pre-approval is needed for this case.
- In order to point a UC San Diego domain name to a vendor site or other non-UCSD product, even for a free product, you must:
- Comply with all UC San Diego requirements around purchasing and contracts, even if you did not spend UC San Diego funds. You may not "click through" an agreement on behalf of the university.
- Ensure that the vendor complies with all UC San Diego requirements around security, privacy and accessibility of UC San Diego data at the appropriate UC Policy BFB-IS-3 level.
- To do the above, contact the Hostmaster with your domain name request, the name of the vendor and product, the type of service you wish to use (e.g. website, cloud storage etc.) and the level of data protection required by UC Policy BFB-IS-3 for any data you plan to store or access using the service (if you are not sure, describe the data or type of use). They will route the ticket through IT Security and UCSD Purchasing to assess your request.