|
|
Home |
|
|
What is a Domain Name? |
|
|
What
is a Domain Name? You might ask. With that in mind
StealADomainName.com
went on a quest to answer
that question for our prospective customers and customers without all of
the technical stuff getting in the way.
The results of our quest to answer the question "What is a Domain Name"
is listed below to help you better
understand the meaning and importance of each aspect of Internet Domain
Names. Click the Name to find it's
definition. |
|
|
1.Domain
Name
|
|
2.Registrant
|
|
3.Registrar
|
|
4.Registry
|
|
5.Administrative/Technical/Billing
Contacts
|
|
6.DNS
|
|
7.Primary
and Secondary Name Servers
|
|
8.Primary
and Secondary IP numbers
|
|
9.Domain
Parking
|
|
10.Modification
of your domain names contact information
|
11.Web
Hosting
|
|
12.ISP
|
|
13.InterNIC
|
|
14.WHOIS
|
|
15.Renewal
|
|
16.Transfer
(Domain Name transfer)
|
|
| 17.Top
Level Domain (TLD) Name |
|
|
|
|
|
1. Domain Name
A domain name is the core of your online identity. It is the address used
to make you accessible on the web.
Once registered, a domain name is yours and yours alone. It may not be
used by anyone else on the Internet. |
|
|
Domain
Names always have two or more parts, separated by periods. The part on the
left (the secondary
domain) is the name you choose such as “mydomain”. The right component is
what is known as a top-level
domain name (such as .COM, .NET or .biz). |
|
|
Computers
on the Internet use IP (Internet Protocol) numbers (e.g., 123.452.06.31)
to locate other computers.
Internet users would have a difficult time remembering these long strings
of numbers to find sites, so domain
names were developed to translate IP numbers into easy-to-remember domain
names. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
2. Registrant
The entity, organization, or individual who is the owner/lease holder of a
particular domain name is known as the
Registrant. When registering a domain name for a Company or Organization
be sure that the Company or
Organizations name is listed as the Registrant if you wish for the Company
to have complete control over
ownership/lease hold. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
3. Registrar
An ICANN accredited entity (or an affiliate to such an entity) which acts
on the behalf of a Registrant regarding
domain name registrations or modifications, is known as a Registrar.
|
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
4. Registry
The organization responsible for the actual administration and maintenance
of the top-level domain database is
known as the Registry. The Registry is where Registrars create new or
modify existing domain names for
Registrants. For the .COM, .NET, and .ORG extensions the Registry is a US
government contracted database. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
5. Administrative/Technical/Billing contacts
Domain Contact Records are individuals or groups who represent a
Registrant on matters related to the
Registrant's domain name(s). There are three types of Contacts:
Administrative, Technical, and Billing. Contacts
have the ability to modify information pertaining to a domain name. A
contact may be a single person, a
company, or an organization. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
6. DNS
DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS is basically a piece of translation
software. This System translates
a domain name such as Yahoo.com into IP address, allowing people to easily
find the addresses of websites or
other services.
The DNS record consists data similar to the following example:
Primary Nameserver: NS.SUN.COM
Primary IP address: 192.9.9.3 |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
7. Primary and Secondary Name Servers
The Primary and Secondary Name Servers indicate the hostname of a name
server that will contain authoritative
data for the domain name being registered and will deliver/translate that
domain name to its corresponding IP
number. The designation of "secondary" indicates that the name server will
be used in addition to and as a
backup for the primary name server that is listed as Primary; although in
a name lookup the primary does not take
priority over the secondary or any other listed server. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
8. Primary and Secondary IP address/numbers
IP stands for Internet Protocol. A unique number consisting of 4 parts
separated by periods/dots. Every machine
which houses information that is available on the Internet has a unique
number, which correlates to its domain
name. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
9. Domain Parking
Registrars require Primary and Secondary Name Servers and IP Numbers for
every domain registered (DNS).
Every domain name has to be linked to this information for it to be valid
(i.e., each domain name needs to have
an address attached to it). At the time of registration some people do not
yet have Name Server information
(which is generally provided by a Web Host), therefore our Registrar
offers 'domain parking' (free of charge) on
their servers. It is a convenient way to hold or 'Park' domain name(s) for
an extended amount of time if you are not
ready to use them. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
10. Modification of your domain name's contact information
"Modification" is a function whereby a domain name's information is
updated to reflect new contact or DNS
information. Administrative and Technical Contacts have the ability to
modify domain name information. There is
a fee to change the Registrant of a domain name. All other modifications
to Administrative, Technical, Billing, and
DNS are free of charge. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
11. Web Host
Web Hosts offer a service where their "server" stores your web site's HTML
files, and graphics (generally for
a monthly fee). Their server allows your web site to be accessed / viewed
over the Internet.
Renew Or Register does not offer Web Hosting. You can use any search
engine to locate a Web Host. You do
not need to have a web host to register a domain name! |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
12. ISP (Internet Service Provider)
ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. An ISP provides access to the
Internet for others via some connectivity
service(s). Examples of ISPs include Earthlink, Mindspring, and WorldNet
to name a few. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
13. InterNIC
InterNIC was a U.S. government agency that has been effectively replaced
by ICANN (Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers). ICANN now oversees the domain names industry
concerning the TLD's .COM,
.NET, and .ORG . ICANN is technically an international organization, which
holds meetings at different
international locations throughout each year. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
14. WHOIS
WHOIS is a term referring to a domain name search feature for the .COM,
.NET, and .ORG database. The
WHOIS can be used to search for the owner/lease holder of any domain name
which has already been
registered. This is valuable information if you wish to contact the owner
of a domain name that may or may not be
attached to a functioning web site. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
15. Renewal
Registration for domain names needs to be renewed based on a scheduled
yearly interval. This gives the
Registrant (you) and the Registry an opportunity to update contact
information and settle on the payment of the
registration fee(s). |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
16. Transfer - Registrant (Domain Name Owner/Lease Holder
transfer)
The procedure for change of ownership is known a Registrant Transfer.
Domain names can be given to or sold to
a different party, or the name of the company that owns the domain may
change. The Registrar requires a
process by which permission from the old owner to hand over control to the
new owner is obtained and
authorized by notary public documentation. There is a $9.99 US fee for
registrant Transfers. Contact the
Registrar you originally used to register the domain to request a
Registrant Transfer. |
|
|
|
Return To The Domain Index |
|
|
|
17. Top Level Domain (TLD)
In the example YourCompany.net the ".NET" is the Top Level Domain. There
are two types of Top Level
Domains. The most common type is gTLDs (generic Top Level Domains), such
as .COM, .NET., ORG. The other
type of TLD is the ccTLD (country code Top Level Domains) that have been
assigned to all countries and their
dependencies (e.g., Germany is .de). Every TLD Registry - generic or
country code - has its own prices, policies,
and procedures that Registrants (name holders) in that Registry are
subject to. It is important to know and be
prepared to accept these terms before registering name(s) in a particular
Registry. The most commonly
registered names are in the .COM, .NET, and .ORG gTLD's. |
|
|
