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Q149044: DNS Host Name Substitutes "-" for Invalid Characters

Article: Q149044
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 3.51,4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbnetwork
Last Modified: 20-FEB-2002

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.51, 4.0 
- Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.51, 4.0 
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SYMPTOMS
========

A hypen (minus sign) is substituted whenever you use a percent sign, pound sign,
or underscore in a computer name during an initial installation of Windows NT.
For example, %MYNAME, MYNAME#1, and MYNAME_1 become, respectively, -MYNAME,
MYNAME-1, and MYNAME-1.

It is not possible to add a percent sign, pound sign, or underscore into the DNS
Host Name even though the Server Installation Guide does not list them as
invalid characters.

If you try to insert an invalid character, the following error is displayed:

  The parameter is incorrect.

Another symptom occurs when you attempt to connect to a newly created Web server
with an invalid character in the computer name. You are unable to connect to
HTTP://SERVER#1, but you can connect to HTTP://SERVER-1.

CAUSE
=====

The cause of this error message is given in RFC 952, which states:

  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), minus sign (-), and
  period (.). Note that periods are only allowed when they serve to delimit
  components of "domain style names". (See RFC-921, "Domain Name System
  Implementation Schedule", for background). 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 an alpha character. 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. Hosts which do not serve as Internet
  gateways should not use "-GATEWAY" and "-GW" as part of their names. A host
  which is a TAC should have "-TAC" as the last part of its host name, if it is
  a DoD host. Single character names or nicknames are not allowed.

  DOD INTERNET HOST TABLE SPECIFICATION:
  --------------------------------------
  This RFC is the official specification of the format of the Internet Host
  Table. This edition of the specification includes minor revisions to RFC-810
  which brings it up to date. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.


By design, the Microsoft Windows NT DNS Hosts Configuration utility replaces all
invalid characters in the DNS host name found in the NetBIOS computer name with
a hyphen. If you want your NetBIOS and DNS host names to match, you must use the
DNS naming standard outlined in RFC 952 when creating your NetBIOS computer
name.

WORKAROUND
==========

In the DNS Configuration dialog box for the TCP/IP Protocol in Control Panel
Network, change the host name to a valid string of characters.
For further information on RFC Documents, reference: http://ds.internic.net

Additional query words: prodnt computername hostname IIS

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Keywords          : kbnetwork 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT351search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTW351search kbWinNTW351 kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbWinNTS351 kbWinNTS351search
Version           : :3.51,4.0

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