Why use .local as your domain

[finsfree]

What is the difference between .local and .com domains. Is the .local domains only used for internal proposes and the .com domains used for external use (meaning if you had a web site people could connect to it with a browser).

I am setting up a network at home and I am not running any web sites from it. Should I just use a .local as a domain?

I do networking part time, but everything is already "set up" for me. I have never built a network from the ground up. I will be using Sever 2003.

Thank you!

 

[AdmnPower]

Typically thats just to help you keep it straight. I bought a domain that is .in and i run it internally and you can resolve my external IP if you do an nslookup externally. .local is just fine for your personal network, you don't have to own a domain to use it internally. It's just handy for when you start doing things with websites and Exchange. If all you're doing is internal DNS then you can use what ever domain you want even if it's already used on the internet because no one externally should be able to ask your DNS server anything.