Domain Name

A Domain Name is part of a URL and can be typed into a browser to find a particular web site. When a computer connects to the Internet, it uses a unique IP Address; because IP Addresses can be difficult to remember, the DNS or Domain Name System was put in place to correlate IP Addresses to domain names.

ICANN is the ruling body that monitors the domain naming system.

Overview

Any domain name will abide by rules and procedures of the DNS. Domain names are used in various ways, networking contexts and addressing purposes. Depending on the type of domain one chooses to register, there are various features offered, such as: free email services, transfer and renewals, domain name options, DNS services and other such features. The individual host computers over the Internet use domain names in order to identify the host or hostnames. In this way, the hostnames are considered as a component of URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) for Internet resources like websites. However, the domain names are also used to simply identify labels to determine the ownership or maintain control over the resource.

How is a Domain Name Organized?

Basically, a domain names consists of an alphanumeric string which is divided into sections, with the most important sections separated by periods. For instance, if we take "icannwiki.com" the most important sections of this domain name are::

• The highest level of thedomain name, known as the Top-Level Domain is found at the far right; in this case it is the ".com" string.
• The TLD could have subdivisions, but in this case the information immediate to the left is the Second-Level Domain, represented by "icannwiki".

A domain name is organized from right to left, with the specific descriptions in the left part of the domain name while the general descriptors are in the right part. The machine name (WWW) is positioned at the far left. Dots are used in order to separate the domain levels.

Types of Domain Names

1. Generic Top-Level Domain Names

These domain name extensions began to appear in the 1980's, and now include: .com, .net, .mobi, etc. Anyone can register a domain name under this extension but these domains have restricted use.

1. Country Code Top-Level Domain Names

There are generic top-level extensions at a national level, which based on a code depending on the country, such as: France -.fr, Romania-.ro, United Kingdom-.uk, etc. National entities are responsible with the administration of these specific country codes.

1. Sponsored Top-Level Domain Names

There are cases when top-level domain names may receive sponsorship from institutions and various organizations. The difference between generic top-level domain names and sponsored domain names consists of a charter that defines the domain purpose such as: .gov (US government), .edu (US educational organizations),etc.

Domain Name vs. URL

A domain name is not a URL. The domain name is only a component of the URL, as the URL provides more information related to the address, protocol language, and other such issues.

Chinese version of this page/本页中文版

域名是网址（URL）的一部分，可以被输入到浏览器中从而找到一个特定的网站。当一台计算机与互联网相连时，它就会获得一个唯一的IP 地址；由于IP地址不容易被人记住，因而产生了用以将IP地址和域名相关联的DNS或域名系统。 ICANN是监管域名系统的管理机构。

概述

任何域名都将遵守DNS的规则和程序。域名的用途多样化，包括网络化语境和寻址。根据选择注册的不同域名类型，相应的功能类型也不同，比如：免费电子邮件服务、转让和更新、域名选项、DNS服务和其他此类功能。互联网上的单个主机使用域名来识别主机和主机名称。因此，主机名称被认为是互联网资源比如网站网址（资源定位符）的组成部分。然而，域名也被用于简单的识别用以判定资源所有权或控制权的标签。

域名的构成方式是什么？

通常，一个域名由被分割成几个部分的一个字母数字字符串组成，最重要的部分用句点区分。比如，以“icannwiki.com”为例，这个域名最重要的部分是：

• 域名的最高级别，即 顶级域在最右端；这个域名的顶级域就是“.com”这个字符串。
• TLD可以细分成其他部分，但是在这个例子中，句点左边的是二级域名 ，即“icannwiki”这个字符串。

域名的构成形式是从右至左，域名左侧是细述部分，而右侧是概述部分。设备名称（WWW）位于最左端。句点用以区分域名级别。

域名的类型

1. 通用顶级域

这类域名扩展在20世纪80年代开始出现，主要包括：.com、 .net、.mobi等。任何人都可以注册在这类扩展下的域名，但是这些域名的适用范围是有限制的。

1. 国家代码顶级域名

通用顶级域还有一种基于国家代码的扩展，比如：法国- .fr，罗马尼亚 - .ro，英国 - .uk等。国家实体负责管理这些特定的国家代码。

1. 赞助类顶级域名

有时候顶级域名会得到来自机构和各种组织的赞助。通用类顶级域和赞助类顶级域名之间的区别包括用以规定域名使用目的的特许状，比如：.gov（美国政府），.edu（美国教育组织）等。

域名与网址

域名不是网址。域名只是网址的一个组成部分，因为网址包含更多与地址、协议语言和其他此类事项相关的信息。

Chinese translation of this page provided thanks to TLD Registry Ltd.