What is a domain name?A domain name is defined as the unique name that identifies an Internet site. A domain name will always have two or more parts, separated by dots (periods). The part on the left is the most specific, and will always be unique to the website, while the part on the right is the general, and will be shared by many websites. A particular web server may have more than one Domain Name associated with it but a given domain name points to only one machine. For example, the domain names gigfoot.net, mail.gigfoot.net and sasquatch.gigfoot.net all refer to the same machine, and the machine then decides where to send the request based upon the name it was given. These domain names are associated with a given computers IP address, which is the unique identifying four part number that every computer connected to the internet has. Each domain name can refer to no more than one machine. For example the domain gigfoot.net must be associated with th IP address of a single computer somewhere, which handles all requests for that name. That single machine can in fact send some or all of those requests to another machine, or handle them itself, depending on how it is configured. The process of associating a particular machine with a particular domain name (a process known as 'pointing') is handled by an organization called a registrar. A registrar is authorized to represent other individuals to the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and to register any available domain name with the IP address of a web server. By doing this it becomes possible to use gigfoot.net in a browser or ftp program, rather than the unique IP address of the server computer which is 66.216.127.54. As you can see below, both addresses take you to the same place, one just looks better on a business card or T.V. commercial. Through a partnership with the original Internet domain name registrar, Network Solutions, Gigfoot can quickly and cheaply register your new domain name with ICANN.
Domain Names
| 
