Understanding Domain Names and Registrars - Part I
DNS (Domain Name System)
The Internet was built on the notion that any computer on a global network can be identified by its numeric Internet Protocol (IP) address. But since people, and not machines, are the primary users of the Internet, a more people-friendly naming system called the Domain Name System (DNS) was invented. DNS maps a host name like
www.gregrobert.com to the IP address of the machine that hosts the website. For example, DNS actually maps the host name
www.gregrobert.com to the IP address 204.10.37.80
DNS is built upon the notion that some server's are 'authoritative' (meaning, knows all there is to know) for certain domains. A distributed name server hierarchy, beginning with the A Root Server and ending at the thousands of nameservers active on the Internet, ensures that the naming and directing system works the same from anywhere.
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Domain Name
A domain name is essentially a signpost on the Internet. Almost every website you've ever been to, and every email you've ever composed, has used a domain name in its address.
People register domain names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular name -- whether for business or personal reasons. Once a domain name is registered to a person or company, it is that person's to use exclusively as long as they continue to pay the yearly renewal fee and abide by the terms of use.
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Top Level Domain (TLD)
The portion of a traditional domain name that comes after the dot. So, in
gregrobert.com, the top level domain is .com. The generic top level domains (gTLDs) are .com, .net and .org; there are also country code top level domains (ccTLDs) such as .ca, or .uk.
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Second Level Domain (SLD)
The portion of a traditional domain name that comes before the dot. So, in
gregrobert.com, the second level domain is gregrobert.
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Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD)
gTLDs are top level domains that are not associated with any country. Currently, the only gTLDs in existence are .com, .net and .org. Originally, the top level domain designation was meant to denote whether the domain name was being used for business (.com), charity/non-profit (.org), or for a network (.net). However, with the explosion of the Internet (and specifically, the world wide web) as a new business medium, the lines were blurred, and companies and individuals alike started cross-registering domains (ie. me.com, me.net, me.org) just to protect their interests. Now, .com,
.net, and .org names (the generic Top Level Domains) can be used for any
purpose.
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Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD)
Every country (and a few territories) in the world has a reserved, two letter country code domain that is theirs to use as they see fit. Some countries run their own ccTLD registry, others outsource it to a private company, and still others sell rights to their ccTLD to third parties to run as they see fit.
Examples of ccTLDs are .ca (Canada), .us (United States), and .to (Tonga). In general, these are registered by businesses with a coincidental link to the TLD in question.
For example: .to is used more by Torontonians than Tongans and .tv has more American television content than native Tuvalu culture.
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Domain Registrar
A "Registrar" (or "Domain Name Registrar") is an organization like Network Solutions that has control over the granting of domains within certain TLDs (top level domains, like the generic .com/.org/.net or country-specific .ca/.us/.mx etc.).
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Domain Registry
The 'Registry' is the system backend that is maintained by the operators of the TLD. Registrar's write new names to a central registry database, from which the authoritative root (essentially, a table of all domain names) is built. In the case of .com, .net and .org, the InterNIC runs the registry, and qualified registrars have shared access to it. In the case of many ccTLDs, the registry and registrar functions are combined within one entity.
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Domain Registrant
A registrant is the person or company who registers a domain name. For example,
John Smith (registrant) registers the name johnsmith.com through OpenSRS (registrar) who in turn writes the name to the central database (Registry).
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