Technical Terms got you confused? Below are some commonly used terms and their definitions in the domain name registration industry.
- Domain Name
- Registrant
- Registrar
- Registry
- Administrative/Technical/Billing Contacts
- DNS
- Primary and Secondary Name Servers
- Primary and Secondary IP numbers
- Domain Parking
- Modification of your domain names information
- Web Host
- ISP
- InterNIC
- WhoIs
- Renewal
- Top Level Domain (TLD)
- Second Level Domain Name
1. Domain Name
A domain name is the core of your online identity. It is the address web surfers use to find your web site. Your domain name is yours entirely because once registered, no other party may use that identity online in that Top Level Domain.
Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by periods/dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the most general.
Computers on the Internet use IP (Internet Protocol) numbers (e.g., 123.456.78.90) 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.
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 control over ownership/lease hold.
3. Registrar
An ICANN accredited entity (or an affiliate to such an entity) which acts on behalf of a Registrant regarding domain name registrations or modifications, is known as a Registrar. All domain names ending in the .Com, .Net, .Org, .Biz, .Info and .Ws extensions are required to be processed through a Registrar.
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, .Org, .Biz, .Info and .Ws extensions the Registry is a US government contracted database.
5. Administrative/Technical/Billing contacts
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. Administrative contacts have the ability to modify information pertaining to a domain name. A Contact may be a single person, a company, or organization.
6. DNS
DNS stands for Domain Name System. This System translates a domain name such as YourDomain.com into IP numbers. DNS is basically a piece of translation software which allows humans and computers to easily communicate. The network of computers, that constitute the Internet, map domain names to their corresponding IP numbers.
The DNS record consists of data similar to the following example:
Primary Nameserver: ns1.ourdnsserver.com
Primary IP address: 123.456.789.0
Secondary Nameserver: ns2.ourdnsserver.com
Secondary IP Address: 234.567.890.1
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.
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.
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 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 and IP Number information (which is provided by a Web Host), therefore our Registrar offers 'domain parking' (Free of charge) on their servers. It is a convenient and free way to hold or 'Park' domain name(s) for an extended amount of time if you are not ready to use them.
If you do not yet have a web site built or have not yet found a Web Host you will want to "Park" your domain name (a Free service). This is easy; just leave the default DNS as is when you register. You can change your DNS information free at any time (i.e., when you have found a web host and acquired Primary and Secondary Name Server and IP number information from them). The web host will provide you with their Primary and Secondary Name Server and IP #'s. You must request this information from your Web Host.
10. Modification of your domain names information
"Modification" is a function where a domain names information is updated to reflect new contact or DNS information. Administrative Contacts have the ability to modify domain name information. All modifications to Administrative, Technical and Billing information are free.
11. Web Host
Web Hosts offer a service where their "server" computer stores your web site's HTML files, and graphics for a fee. Their server allows your web site to be viewed over the Internet.
1 2 3 Domain Register can provide a Web Hosting account for you, but remember, you do not need to have a web host to register a domain name!
12. ISP (Internet Service Provider)
ISP stands for Internet Service Provider. An ISP provides access to the Internet for others via some connectivity service. Examples of ISPs would be Earthlink and Mindspring.
13. InterNIC
InterNIC was an 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.
14. WhoIs
WhoIs is a term referring to a domain name search feature for the .Com, .Net, .Org, .Biz, .Info and .Ws 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.
15. Renewal
Registration for domain names needs to be renewed based on some 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.
16. Top Level Domain (TLD)
In the example YourCompany.com the “.com” 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) which are assigned to all countries and their dependencies (ex., 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, .Org, .Biz, .Info and .Ws gTLD's.
17. Second Level Domain
In the Domain Name System (DNS), the next highest level of the hierarchy underneath the Top Level Domains. In the example of the domain name YourCompany.com - the “YourCompany” part is the second level domain. Second level domain names are the what Registrants decide upon and register.
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