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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 Gononet, BanglaNet, and ProshikaNet to name a few.
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.
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.
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).
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 $15 US fee for registrant Transfers. Contact the Registrar
you originally used to register the domain to request a Registrant
Transfer.
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. |