{{Short description|Grouping of computer networks or hosts}}A '''network domain''' is an administrative grouping of multiple private computer networks or local hosts within the same infrastructure.<ref> Compare: {{cite book | last1 = Anderson | first1 = Howard | last2 = Yull | first2 = Sharon | last3 = Hellingsworth | first3 = Bruce | year = 2001 | title = Higher National Computing | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Z7p6tXtEXfIC | edition = 2 | location = Oxford | publisher = Routledge | publication-date = 2004 | page = 260 | isbn = 9781136398988 | accessdate = 2015-08-18 | quote = A network domain is more formally defined as a group for servers controlled by a primary domain controller. The idea is that this group of servers can behave as a single combined unit. }} </ref><ref> Compare: {{cite book | last1 = Chen | first1 = Lidong | last2 = Gong | first2 = Guang | author2-link = Guang Gong | title = Communication System Security | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ooDV8MQiO_cC | series = Chapman & Hall/CRC Cryptography and Network Security Series | date = 29 May 2012 | publisher = CRC Press | publication-date = 2012 | page = 313 | isbn = 9781439840368 | accessdate = 2015-08-18 | quote = The terminology, ''network domain'', comes from the cellular systems. Traditionally, a cellular service provider owns not only radio frequency spectrums but also certain network infrastructure, for example, base stations, switches, and servers. All these entities are connected through a wired network to provide telephony service. A network domain is the wired portion of an operator's network. }} </ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc920.txt|title=RFC: 920 - Domain Requirements|last=Postel|first=J|date=October 1984|website=Internet Engineering Task Force|access-date=27 January 2019|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112055314/https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc920.txt|url-status=live}}</ref> Domains can be identified using a domain name; domains that need to be accessible from the public Internet can be assigned a globally unique name within the Domain Name System (DNS).
A domain controller is a server that automates the logins, user groups, and architecture of a domain, rather than manually coding this information on each host in the domain. It is common practice, but not required, to have the domain controller act as a DNS server.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-r2-and-2008/cc732715(v%3dws.11)|title=Planning DNS Servers|last=Archiveddocs|website=docs.microsoft.com|language=en-us|access-date=2019-01-27|archive-date=2019-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128083014/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2008-r2-and-2008/cc732715(v%3dws.11)|url-status=live}}</ref> That is, it would assign names to hosts in the network based on their IP addresses.
== Usage == Use of the term ''network domain'' first appeared in 1965 and saw increasing usage beginning in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=network+domain&year_start=1960&year_end=2019&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cnetwork%20domain%3B%2Cc0t1;,network%20domain;,c0|title=Google Ngram Viewer|website=books.google.com|access-date=2019-01-27}}</ref> It initially applied to the naming of radio stations based on broadcast frequency and geographic area.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y6jnCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22network+domain%22&pg=PA35|title=A History of Broadcasting in the United States: 2. The Golden Web: 1933-1953|last=Barnouw|first=Erik|date=1968-02-20|publisher=OUP USA|isbn=9780195004755|language=en|access-date=2021-12-03|archive-date=2022-01-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118185553/https://books.google.com/books?id=y6jnCwAAQBAJ&dq=%22network+domain%22&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref> It entered its current usage by network theorists to describe solutions to the problems of subdividing a single homogeneous LAN and joining multiple networks, possibly constituted of different network architectures.<ref>{{Cite thesis|title=Integrating local area networks to improve reliability and performance|url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0051894|publisher=University of British Columbia|date=1986|first=Kenneth Chi-Kin|last=Chan|access-date=2019-01-27|archive-date=2019-01-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128082719/https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/831/items/1.0051894|url-status=live}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
Category:Computer networking Category:Domain Name System