A Draft of Host Names
A draft of official names and addresses for ARPANET computers
Watson, R.W., "A Draft of Host Names", RFC 280, DOI 10.17487/RFC0280, November 1971, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc280>.
@misc{rfc280,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 280,
howpublished = {RFC 280},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC0280},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc280},
author = {R.W. Watson},
title = {{A Draft of Host Names}},
pagetotal = 3,
year = 1971,
month = nov,
} RFC text
NWG/RFC# 280 17-NOV-71 15:57 8060
A Draft Set of Host Names Richard W. Watson
SRI-ARC
The enclosed list of host names is a draft. The hosts with an *
next to them indicated that this is the name they desired. The
others are names assigned. If I do not hear from representatives
at the hosts to change or correct the names in this list by
December 3, I will publish a list which we all can consider
official.
Formal Name Nickname Network Address
*AMES-ILLIAC I4
*AMES-67 16
*AMES-TIP 144
*BBN-NCC NCC 5
*BBN-TESTIP 158
*CMU-10 14
*MIT-DMCG DMCG 70
*MIT-MULTICS MIT-M 6
*MITRE-TIP 145
*RAND-CSG 71
*RAND-RCC 7
*SRI-AI 66
*SRI-ARC NIC 2
*UCLA-CCN CCN 65
*UCLA-NMC SEX 1
*UCSB-MOD75 MOD75 3
*USC-44 23
BBN-TENEX TENEX 69
NWG/RFC# 280 17-NOV-71 15:57 8060
A Draft Set of Host Names
BBN-TENEXB 133
BURR 15
BURR-TEST 79
CASE-10 13
ETAC-TIP 148
GWC-TIP 152
HARV-1 73
HARV-10 9
HARV-11 137
ILL-11 12
ILL-6500 76
LL-67 10
LL-TSP 138
LL-TX2 74
MCCL-418 22
MIT-AI 134
NBS-11 19
NBS-TIP 147
NCAR-7600 25
NCAR-TIP 153
RADC-645 18
NWG/RFC# 280 17-NOV-71 15:57 8060
A Draft Set of Host Names
RADC-TIP 146
SDC-75 8
SU-SAIL 11
TINK-418 21
USC-TIP 151
UTAH-10 4
[ This RFC was put into machine readable form for entry ]
[ into the online RFC archives by BBN Corp. under the ]
[ direction of Alex McKenzie. 12/96 ]
AI ELI5
On this page
§1ARPANET Host Names
This RFC is a working document from Richard Watson at the Network Information Center (NIC) at SRI-ARC, published in November 1971. It lists the names of computers connected to ARPANET, along with their nicknames and network addresses. The purpose is to collect feedback from host representatives and publish an official registry by December 3, 1971.
Early ARPANET computers needed official names. This list asks each computer to confirm or correct its entry.
§2Host Names and Addresses
The list shows three pieces of information for each ARPANET host: a formal name (such as MIT-DMCG, or SRI-AI), an optional nickname (such as NIC for SRI-ARC, or CCN for UCLA-CCN), and a numerical network address (for example, SRI-ARC is address 2, BBN-NCC is address 5, and UTAH-10 is address 4). Names with an asterisk were requested by the host itself; others were assigned by the NIC.
The list includes roughly thirty-five hosts, ranging from universities (MIT, Stanford, Harvard) to research institutions (RAND, MITRE) to government labs (NBS, NCAR). Each entry reflects the organization and the type of computer at that site.
Each computer gets a proper name (like MIT-DMCG), possibly a short nickname (like DMCG), and a number (like 70) so it can be found on the network.
§3Status and Legacy
This RFC marks an important early moment in ARPANET administration: the formalization of a host registry. The list documents what was to become the role of the Network Information Center—keeping the authoritative record of ARPANET hosts and their addresses. Although this particular document is only a draft, it shows the NIC's methods and the effort to bring order to a growing network. The host naming scheme shown here, with formal names linked to network addresses, became a model for how networks would organize and identify their members.
This is one of the first times anyone officially listed every computer on the network and asked for corrections, starting a tradition of keeping an official registry.