DNS Host Name Substitutes "-" for Invalid Characters

 Last reviewed: March 26, 1997
Article ID: Q149044
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server version 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

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
Keywords : kbnetwork nthowto NTSrvWkst nttcp
Version : 3.51 4.0
Platform : WinNT

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Last reviewed: March 26, 1997
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