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Introduced | 1985 |
---|---|
TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
Status | Unused |
Actual use | Fallen into disuse in favour of .uk |
Registration restrictions | No registrations presently being taken |
Structure | Government sites formerly found under hmg.gb |
Dispute policies | None |
Registry website | None |
.gb is a reserved Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United Kingdom.
The domain was introduced with RFC 920[1] in October 1984 that set out the creation of ccTLD generally using country codes derived from the corresponding two-letter code in the ISO 3166-1 list. However, the .uk domain had been created separately a few months before the compilation of this list.[2] Consequently, .gb was never widely used. It is no longer possible to register under this domain.
.gb was used for a number of years, mainly by British government organisations and commercial e-mail services using X.400-based e-mail infrastructure. This simplified translating between DNS domains and X.400 addresses, which used "GB" as a country code.[3]
With the demise of X.400 e-mail and IANA's general aim of one TLD per country, use of .gb declined; the domain remains in existence, but it is not currently open to new domain registrations.
As of 2021[update], dra.hmg.gb
still exists, with at least three subdomains resolving through DNS (although none serve a website): hermes.dra.hmg.gb
, delos.dra.hmg.gb
, and dfhnet.dra.hmg.gb
.[4][5][6] The domain was originally owned by the Defence Research Agency,[7] which became the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in 1995 and was split into QinetiQ and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in 2001; the website became defunct some time thereafter.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ J. Postel and J. Reynolds (October 1984), Request for Comments: 920, Network Working Group
- ^ Milton Mueller (2002), Ruling the Root: Internet Governance and the Taming of Cyberspace, Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, p. 79, ISBN 9780262632980
- ^ Crepin-Leblond, Olivier M. J. (2003). "International E-mail Accessibility". Archived from the original on 21 May 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ^ "DNS lookup for hermes.dra.hmg.gb". Retrieved 7 March 2016 – via Google Apps Toolbox.
- ^ "DNS lookup for delos.dra.hmg.gb". Retrieved 7 March 2016 – via Google Apps Toolbox.
- ^ "DNS lookup for dfhnet.dra.hmg.gb". Retrieved 7 March 2016 – via Google Apps Toolbox.
- ^ Gollman, Dieter, ed. (November 1994). "A Consideration of the Modes of Operation for Secure Systems". Computer Security – ESORICS 94. Brighton: Springer-Verlag. p. 335. ISBN 978-3-540-58618-0.
- ^ "DERA". DERA. Archived from the original on 17 May 2001. Retrieved 26 November 2006.
External links[edit]
- IANA .gb whois information
- JANET(UK) website
- www.dra.hmg.gb Last accessible copy of www.dra.hmg.gb in the Internet Archive
- Official country code for Britain = GB or UK? Email discussion on GB domain (2002) with historical zonefiles.