Domain name registration
Summary Description Why is registering an
Internet domain name such a hassle? Newswire's 5 Minute Guides
looks at how it's done.
Author
Publication
Roullas Top10 Simon Vandore
Newswire
No
Editorial InformationArticle Location
http://www.newswire.com.au/0006/5mg01.htm
Article Topic 5 Minute Guides
Story Order
Story Group 000604
Post Date 01/06/2000 08:53 AM Status Posted Entered by Simon
Vandore on 31/05/2000 03:04 PM
ImagesLead Picture
Heading Image
Content
Introduction
Body
What is a domain name?
The Internet uses IP addresses to identify connected computers.
These addresses are numerical strings such as 203.18.241.21.
Because numbers are difficult to remember, sites are also given
familiar alphabetical names, which can be translated back into
numbers by a domain name server (DNS), such as newswire.com.au.
Domain names are best understood when read backwards. A country
code can be on the end, such as '.au' for Australia, and the type
of site is identified by '.com' for commercial, '.org' for a
nonprofit organisation, and so on. Then the site's actual name
appears: 'newswire'. Domain name administrators can create server
names within their own name space, such as 'www.newswire.com.au'
to signify a World Wide Web server, or perhaps
'mail.newswire.com.au' for the machine that handles email
traffic.
Why do I need to register it?
A DNS stores a huge database of all the domain names, and
whenever someone enters the alphabetical name of a site, the DNS
looks it up and gives your computer the numerical address. A site
can be put online with just a numerical address, but it's not the
sort of thing you can promote -- can you imagine advertising
203.18.241.21 on the sides of buses? To get your site's name into
the Internet's domain name system, you must go through an
official registry and pay a fee to hold the rights to that name.
Who has the authority to administer domain names?
Different registrars exist for different types of domain names.
For example, the global centre for .com, .net and .org
registrations is known as InterNIC and is run by Network
Solutions in the US, but competition has been introduced by ICANN
(the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) which
allows accredited registrars around the world to provide the same
service.
In Australia, for example, Melbourne IT runs Internet Names
WorldWide as an accredited registrar for .com, .net and .org
domain names. Your ISP or Web hosting provider can also help, but
they will probably just do the legwork of dealing with one of the
above organisations.
Most countries other than the US have their own domain name space
under a country code, such as '.uk' for the United Kingdom and
'.fr' for France. If you want a domain name that identifies your
country of origin, you need to register it through the relevant
administrator in your country. The administrator of the 'com.au'
domain space is Robert Elz, who was involved in 'bringing' the
Internet to Australia. He has licensed Melbourne IT (via its
Internet Names WorldWide division) to perform domain name
registrations as a commercial service, on the condition that no
change is made to his policies for the acceptance or rejection of
a domain name, except with the approval of leading Internet
community organisations.
Individuals also administer the '.net.au' and '.org.au' name
space, but domain name registries in Australia can register these
for you too. NetRegistry also provides the full range of name
registration options in Australia. But NetRegistry has the rights
to the rather confusing '.au.com' domain name (simply a '.com'
name registered in the US) and offers this as an alternative to
the policy limitations of '.com.au'.
A nonprofit body named .au Domain Administration (auDA) has now
been formed to oversee domain name registration in Australia, and
it is currently working on its first set of policies.
What sorts of names can be registered?
The .com, .net and .org name spaces were originally intended for
commercial, network and nonprofit organisational use
respectively. However, policy on these domains is now very loose,
and they can theoretically be used for anything. The most
familiar is .com, so it is the first choice of most international
sites. Anyone can register a name that no-one else has already
taken, but 'cybersquatters' who deliberately register prominent
names in the hope of selling them later are now running into
legal trouble in most countries.
If you want to check the availability of a domain name, you need
to use the 'whois' tool appropriate to the name space you want to
enter. Whois is software that searches the DNS records to find
details about the owner of a name. It can be used via client
software on your own computer, but most domain name registrars
simply provide interfaces to whois databases on their Web sites.
Australia, however, has very strict domain policies. The official
'.com.au' name allocation policy requires that domain names are a
direct derivation from actual commercial names (such as
registered business names). Many applications are rejected
because they concern generic product or place names. Generally
only one name can be registered per organisation, but if a
company has multiple trading names it can register them all.
The '.net.au' space works in the same way, but 'org.au'
registrations must contain part of the name of an established
nonprofit organisation. Generally your domain name can be from
two to 63 letters or numerals and contain hyphens, but no spaces
or other special characters.
What problems can arise?
From time to time, disputes arise over the rightful ownership of
a domain name. Negotiation and conciliation is encouraged by the
official '.com.au' policy, and disputes can be taken to an
arbiter (such as the court system), but there is no official
dispute resolution system. This is one of the tasks auDA is
expected to address within the next year.
Related MaterialsRelated Articles
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Bulletin Summary5 Minute Guides: Domain name registration
Why is registering an Internet domain name such a hassle?
Newswire's 5 Minute Guides looks at how it's done.
WAP Summary
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5 Minute Guides: Domain name registration
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