Global names zone

One or more device-readable storage media storing information for performing steps, the steps comprising:

• receiving a domain name registration request for registering a domain name, the domain name including a host name and a sub-domain name, the host name and sub-domain name corresponding to a device, wherein the domain name comprises a plurality of dot-separated parts, the host name corresponding to a leftmost part of the domain name and a top-level domain name corresponding to a rightmost part of the domain name;
• and
• maintaining a global names zone data store to prevent records thereof from having same host names and different sub-domain names by:
• determining whether the global names zone data store has a record with a leftmost part of a domain name that matches the host name in the registration request, where whether they match is based on whether the requested host name is the same as the leftmost part of the record's domain name;
• registering the domain name if the global names zone does not have a record with a leftmost part of a domain name that matches the host name of the registration request;
• and
• rejecting the registration of the domain name if the global names zone does have a record with a left most part of its domain name that matches the host name of the registration request.

A method for registering host names, the method comprising:

• maintaining global name zone data, the global name zone data having records for respective hosts registered in authoritative zones for which a Domain Name Service (DNS) server is the authoritative server, a record comprising a host name, a sub-domain name, and a top-level domain name of the record's corresponding host, wherein a domain name is comprised of separate parts that correspond to different domain levels and the host name represents only the lowest of the domain levels, where requested new host names are rejected from being added to the global name zone data based on the existence in the global name zone data of one or more records already having the requested new host names, and where the requested new host names are prevented from being added without regard for the sub-domain names and the top-level domain names of the existing records, thereby maintaining uniqueness of lowest domain level host names across multiple authoritative zones;
• receiving, at the DNS server, via a network, a request to register a host name included with the request, the requested host name corresponding to only the lowest domain level of a corresponding domain name;
• in response to receiving the request, determining whether the host name in the request is already stored in the global name zone data store, where the determination is made without regard for the sub-domain names and the top-level domain names of the records in the global name zone data store;
• and
• in response to a determination that the host name is not already stored in the global name data store, performing, by the DNS server, a DNS registration for the requested host name, whereby the global name zone data is maintained to prevent records having same host names and different sub-domain names.