Website Domain Naming Standard

Transcription

1 University Cmmunicatins Prepared by Mike Hrn, University Cmmunicatins Last Edited July 22, 2014 Executive Summary This dcument utlines the standards fr public- facing website hst names and was created by the University Cmmunicatins department, wrking with the University Cmmunicatins Standards Cmmittee, and apprved by the Web Technlgy and Infrastructure (WTI) subcmmittee n Feb. 6, 2014, and the Architecture and Infrastructure Cmmittee n July 11, Business Need and Backgrund During the UT Web Infrastructure prject design phase, the prject s Custmer Steering Cmmittee (CSC) members required that their URLs remain unchanged, regardless f the hsting technlgy r server lcatin. Hwever, the panel- based design requirement fr the new UT Web architecture meant that every website must have its wn hstname (a.k.a., URL). The prject technical team met bth requirements by designing UT Web t use reverse prxy t maintain addresses yet refer t uniquely named websites within the UT Web envirnment. This apprach allws greater freedm fr site wners, including allwing different technlgies t be used, e.g., Drupal, WrdPress, etc., but als requires that the name remain pinting t n- campus systems. T reslve the cmplexities intrduced with the reverse- prxy slutin and t supprt a future clud- hsted strategy fr the main university website, the UT Web Infrastructure prject team escalated the need fr a website dmain naming standard t the University Cmmunicatins department, which wns the namespace. Objectives The calls fr changes in the utexas.edu public- facing website hst namespace in rder t: allw the hme and cre pages, built in Drupal, t mve t the clud t prvide imprved business cntinuity fr and cnsistent emergency cmmunicatins via the university s hme page; eliminate the need fr reverse prxy fr the namespace t imprve the UT Web system architecture and t increase prtability f the envirnment; lead t a mre cnsistent user experience fr website visitrs and t increase branding pprtunities fr clleges, schls, and departments. Page 1 f 5

2 University Cmmunicatins Impact The may affect a number f clleges, schls and departments. Abut half f the university s clleges and schls use a address and will have t change their primary, public- facing website address, e.g., t law.utexas.edu. Other centers, departments, and unit websites may be affected if their public website names currently d nt cmply with the prpsed naming standards. Ultimately, implementatin f the standard will require all sites within the namespace t be built in UT CMS, the Drupal cntent management system (CMS) managed by Infrmatin Technlgy Services (ITS) Applicatins fr University Cmmunicatins. Clleges, schls, and departments will have tw years t mve t a new dmain name, if required t d s per the new standard, r t mve websites int the Drupal CMS. Purpse The is a cmpanin dcument t the U.T. Dmain Name System plicy and utlines the university s public- facing website dmain name standard. Scpe This standard applies t all current and future website dmain names assciated with The University f Texas at Austin and its endeavrs. Standard These standards were created by the University Cmmunicatins department, wrking with the University Cmmunicatins. If yu are a cllege r schl r the UT Libraries Request yur wn third level dmain name, fllwing the dmain name plicy (example: mccmbs.utexas.edu) Chse between: Fllwing ur minimal branding standards, cntent, and web plicies using yur wn technlgy, templates, and design Leverage existing, University- apprved technlgies (such as Drupal CMS), templates, and designs as available Page 2 f 5

3 University Cmmunicatins If yu are a department f a cllege r schl r the UT Libraries Fllw the rules f yur cllege r schl with regards t third r furth level dmain name r directry Fllw the rules f the University with regards t minimal branding standards, cntent, and web plicies Fllw the rules f yur cllege r schl with regards t technlgy, templates, design If yu are a center r institute r research unit r prgram r a jurnal and belng t ne cllege r schl r department (example: edb.utexas.edu/utpearsn Pearsn Center fr Applied Psychmetric Research) Fllw the rules f yur cllege r schl r department with regards t third r furth level dmain r directry Fllw the rules f the University with regards t minimal branding standards, cntent, and web plicies Fllw the rules f yur cllege r schl with regards t technlgy, templates, design and either span multiple clleges r schls, r are nt affiliated with any cllege r schl (examples: energy.utexas.edu Energy Institute, ati.utexas.edu Austin Technlgy Incubatr) Cntact the University Cmmunicatins fr guidance. In mst cases, we will recmmend creatin f a third level dmain name. If yu are a VP level department, r a sub- department that reaches an internal audience Request a directry within utexas.edu, fllwing the dmain name plicy (examples: utexas.edu/prvst and utexas.edu/student/husing Husing and Fd) Leverage existing, University- apprved technlgies (such as Drupal CMS), templates, and designs as available If yur grup has significant web applicatins that cannt easily be migrated t Drupal, yu may request an exceptin t be granted a third level dmain and directry structure under that new dmain (examples: Student Affairs, Dean f Students, and Operatins) If yu are a sub- department r a campus- wide service that fcuses n alumni r external audiences Chse between: Page 3 f 5

4 University Cmmunicatins Request yur wn third level dmain name, fllwing the dmain name plicy (example: tsc.utexas.edu Swimming Center) Chse between: Fllwing ur minimal branding standards, cntent, and web plicies using yur wn technlgy, templates, and design Leverage existing, University- apprved technlgies (such as Drupal CMS), templates, and designs as available Request apprval t pursue yur wn nn- utexas.edu dmain (example: blantnmuseum.rg) If yu are a campus- wide service that impacts nearly all students r staff Request yur wn third level dmain name, fllwing the dmain name plicy (example: healthyhrns.utexas.edu) If yu are a student rganizatin When a registered r spnsred student rganizatin submits a website name as part f its applicatin/registratin, the staff f the Student Activities area f the Office f the Dean f Students use the Institutinal Rules Sec as their guide fr apprval r denial. A registered student rganizatin is nt permitted t use any university trademark in assciatin with their name including, but nt limited t, utexas, UT and Lnghrns. Any requests by registered student rganizatins fr an URL that includes these wrds/phrases are denied. Spnsred student rganizatins have the pprtunity t apply fr use f University trademark bth in their names and their websites. If yu d nt fall int these categries, r the guidelines prvided d nt suit yur needs, r yu wuld like a recmmendatin n a new dmain name... Cntact the University Cmmunicatins fr guidance All clleges, schls, units, departments, centers, research units, and prgrams must cmply with this plicy in its entirety by December 31 st, Ntificatins & Apprvals The fllwing grups apprved r were ntified f this standard: Grup Actin Date Web Technlgies & Infrastructure Subcmmittee (WTI) Apprval February 6, 2104 Architecture & Infrastructure Cmmittee (AIC) Apprval July 11, 2014 Page 4 f 5

5 Research & Educatin Cmmittee (R&E) University Cmmunicatins Standards Leadership Cuncil (UCSLC) University Cmmunicatins Ntificatin Ntificatin Revisin Histry Versin Date Updater Name Descriptin V 1.0 7/17/2014 M. Hrn Frmatted apprved plicy V 1.0 7/22/2014 J. Cast Mre frmatting; added purpse, scpe. Page 5 f 5