Domain Naming Question

i in position of having create new forest our company due impending merger , possible rename.  trying figure out best naming schema should since our existing forest not named (we have disjointed namespace).  have read ms article 909264 'naming conventions in active directory computers, domains, sites , ous'.  company have internet presence 'companyname.com'.  think should have forest root domain called 'companyname.com' subdomains follow scheme 'subdomain.companyname.com'.  using regional domain model this.  forest root root domain.  no users or computers (beyond builtins) in domain.  production operations take place in subdomain.  want take advantage of directaccess when becomes available.  forest root seperated internet firewall.  won't directly internet connected.

i thought read somewhere .local no longer recommended intranet domain naming.  true?

if can guide me 'best practices' document help, appreciate it.  want structure our forest future growth , eliminate limitations/problems have our current scheme. 

thanks assistance.

hi russell,

 

.local unregistered suffix, not recommended. best use dns names registered internet authority in active directory namespace. registered names guaranteed globally unique. if organization later registers same dns domain name, or if organization merges with, acquires, or acquired other company uses same dns names, 2 infrastructures cannot interact 1 another.

 

for more information, please refer following article:

 

assigning forest root domain name

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc738121.aspx

 

in addition, here useful article designing active directory logical structure (including how select forest root domain) reference:

 

designing active directory logical structure

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc786010.aspx

Windows Server  >  Directory Services