The Naming of Hosts

   
   The Naming of Hosts is a difficult matter,
       It isn't just one of your holiday games;
   You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
       When I tell you, a host must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.

   First of all, there's the name that the users use daily,
       Such as venus, athena, and cisco, and ames,
   Such as titan or sirius, hobbes or europa--
       All of them sensible everyday names.

   There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
       Some for the web pages, some for the flames:
   Such as mercury, phoenix, orion, and charon--
       But all of them sensible everyday names.

   But I tell you, a host needs a name that's particular,
       A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
   Else how can it keep its home page perpendicular,
       And spread out its data, send pages world wide?

   Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
       Like lothlorien, pothole, or kobyashi-maru,
   Such as pearly-gates.vatican, or else diplomatic-
       Names that never belong to more than one host.

   But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
       And that is the name that you never will guess;
   The name that no human research can discover--
       But THE NAMESERVER KNOWS, and will us'ually confess.

   When you notice a client in rapt meditation,
       The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
   The code is engaged in a deep consultation
       On the address, the address, the address of its name:

               It's ineffable,
               effable,
               Effanineffable,
               Deep and inscrutable,
               singular
               Name.

The Naming of Hosts