Definition of alias in The Network Encyclopedia.

ALIAS in networking

Literally, a name for a name. An alias can be a nickname that identifies a user for e-mail. A user’s alias is usually a shortened form of the user’s full name, such as the alias JSmith or JeffS for user Jeff Smith.

Aliases are a convenient way of identifying users and form the user-specific portion of an e-mail address. For example, if Jeff Smith belongs to a company whose Domain Name System (DNS) domain on the Internet is northwind.microsoft.com, his e-mail address would be either JSmith@northwind.microsoft.com or, instead, JeffS@ northwind.microsoft.com, depending on which alias is selected.

In Microsoft Exchange Server you can use the auto naming feature in the Exchange Administrator program to generate the alias for a new recipient.

• TIP: What if both a Jeff Smith and a Jeff Smythe work at the same company? If JeffS is the alias for the first user, you could use JeffS2 for the second. It all depends on your choice of naming convention.