Internal vs. external domain names

[Kevin Darcy]

Technically, having a separate namespace makes a lot of sense, but I
doubt that you can "clean sheet" everything, including end-users'
expectations from previous places of employment, old habits, etc. Too
many people have been spoiled for so long, with a single domain name --
and, probably more importantly to them, a single email address -- that is
used both internally and externally, that it's very hard to swim against
the flow.

(Is this a sign that I'm getting old; that I don't even bother trying to
fight these kinds of fights any more?)


-Kevin

P.S. I wouldn't happen to know this "large company", would I?

Bob Chmara wrote:

> I'm working on a project to redesign the schema for a large company.
> One of the issues I've been asked to look at is the use of a different
> domain names for internal and external use, such as xyz.net for
> internal use and xyz.com for external use.  Right now, we use the same
> domain name internally and externally.
>
> The benefits I see to using different domain names are:
> - Simplify proxy administration
> - Create a clear distinction between internal and external resources
>
> The drawbacks I see are:
> - Conversion effort - a whole lot of apps will need to be updated
> and/or cname records maintained
> - The distinction between internal and external resources is blurring
> as more suppliers and customers are being given access to systems
>
> - Is there any general consensus about a best practice in this regard?
> - If I had the luxury of a clean sheet approach, which model would you
> recommend?
>
> I've also been asked to gather statistics, though I don't know where,
> if anywhere, those might be found.  I'm also wondering if anyone has
> been through a similar conversion, and if so would you do it again?
>
> Thanks for your help,
> Bob Chmara