A Glossary of Domain Name Registration TermS
- What is a domain name?
- What is an IP address?
- What is a DNS?
- What is a URL?
- What are the components of a domain name?
- What is a Registrant?
- What is a Registrar?
- What is Registry? / What is ICANN
- What is an Administrative Contact?
- What is a Billing Contact?
- What is the Technical Contact?
What is a domain name?
Domain names are the familiar, easy-to-remember names you find on the
Internet, such as domainpurpose.com.
Domain names correspond to a series of numbers called Internet Protocol numbers (or IP addresses) that serve as routing addresses on the Internet.
Imagine if people identified themselves by their phone numbers instead of their names. Domain names fill a similar purpose on the Internet and are much easier to remember than a series of numbers.
Domain names identify a specific network location on the Internet. It is your identity on the Internet and provides you with an address that other Internet users can use to find you on the World Wide Web.
Here are some domain names you might be familiar with:
domainpurpose.com - DomainPurpose
linux.org - Linux Online Inc.
microsoft.net - Microsoft Corporation
cira.ca - the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA)
What is an IP address?
Every computer on the Internet has a numeric address called an IP Address,
which is used to identify the location of the computer. An example of
an IP address is 204.174.223.72. Each domain name replaces this string
of numbers with a simple word or expression. Having a domain name means
you don't have to remember a cumbersome numeric address.
What is a DNS?
DNS stands for Domain Name Server (also referred to as Domain Name Service
or Domain Name System). A DNS translates domain names into IP addresses.
If someone wants to access DomainPurpose's web site (www.domainpurpose.com),
the DNS translates the domain name into its corresponding IP address,
allowing the computer to locate DomainPurpose's web server.
What is a URL?
URL stands for Universal Resource Locator and is a unique identifier for
your web address. Your URL contains your domain name. An example of a
URL is http://www.domainpurpose.com.
No two web sites can have the same URL. Whoever registers a domain name
first gets to use it in their URL. This is why it is important to register
your domain name before someone else does.
What are the components of
a domain name?
Top-Level domains:
A top-level domain (TLD) refers to the suffix attached to Internet domain
names. The most common top-level domains used on the Internet are .com,
.net and .org.
Country Code Top-Level Domains:
Two letter top-level domains, such as .ca .uk, .de and .jp, are called
country code top level domains (ccTLDs) and correspond to a country, territory
or other geographic location. The rules and policies for registering domain
names in the ccTLDs vary significantly from country to country and may
be reserved for use by citizens of the corresponding country. DomainPurpose.com
offers .ca registration.
Second-Level Domains:
The body of a domain name is called the second-level domain. In domainpurpose.com,
"domainpurpose" represents a second-level domain within the
top level domain of .com.
You can also put another word in front of the second level domain. For
example, information.domainpurpose.com. or henry.domainpurpose.com. In
these examples the words "information" and "henry"
are called "host" names or a "sub-domains". You do
not need to register a host or sub-domain with a Registrar.
What is a Registrant?
The entity, organization, or individual listed as the legal holder of
the domain name is known as the Registrant.
What is a Registrar?
The organization responsible for the actual registration of the domain
name is known as the Registrar.
What is a Registry?/ What
is ICANN?
Formed in October 1998, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit, private sector corporation formed by
a broad co-alition of the Internet's business, technical, academic, and
user communities. ICANN has been recognized by the U.S. Government as
the global consensus entity to coordinate the technical management of
the Internet's domain name system, the allocation of IP addresses, the
assignment of protocol parameters, and the management of the root server
system.
ICANN is dedicated to preserve the operational stability of the Internet;
to promote competition; to achieve broad representation of the global
Internet community; and to coordinate policy through private sector, bottom-up,
consensus-based means.
ICANN is located at http://www.ICANN.org.
The Canadian equivalent for .ca domain names, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) is located at http://www.cira.ca.
What is an Administrative
Contact?
The Administrative Contact is the person or organization authorized by
the domain name Registrant to act on behalf of the legal entity listed
as the owner of the domain name. The Administrative Contact should be
able to answer non-technical questions about the legal entity's plans
for using the domain name and the procedures for establishing sub-domains.
What is a Billing Contact?
The Billing Contact is the person or organization that will be invoiced
for registrations and renewals of the domain name.
What is a Technical Contact?
The Technical Contact is the person or organization that maintains the
domain name Registrant's primary name server and resolves software, and
database files. The Technical Contact keeps the name server running and
interacts with technical people in other domains to solve problems that
affect the domain name. An Internet Service Provider often performs this
role. If the Technical or Billing Contact information is missing from
the Registration Agreement, it is presumed that the domain name Registrant
has authorized the Administrative Contact/Agent to act as the Technical
Contact.
Note: In many cases, a single person will be the registrant and sole contact for a domain name.
