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Keyword: Domain Name
A domain name locates an organization or
other entity on the Internet. For example, the domain name
locates an Internet address for "totalbaseball.com"
at Internet point 199.0.0.2 and a particular host server named
"www". The "com" part of the domain name
reflects the purpose of the organization or entity (in this
example, "commercial") and is called the top-level
domain name. The "totalbaseball" part of the domain
name defines the organization or entity and together with the
top-level is called the second-level domain name. The
second-level domain name maps to and can be thought of as the
"readable" version of the Internet address.
A third level can be defined to identify a
particular host server at the Internet address. In our example,
"www" is the name of the server that handles Internet
requests. (A second server might be called "www2".) A
third level of domain name is not required. For example, the
fully-qualified domain name could have been "totalbaseball.com"
and the server assumed.
Subdomain levels can be used. For example,
you could have "www.nyyankees.totalbaseball.com".
Together, "www.totalbaseball.com" constitutes a
fully-qualified domain name.
Second-level domain names must be unique
on the Internet and registered with one of the ICANN-accredited
registrars for the COM, NET, and ORG top-level domains. Where
appropriate, a top-level domain name can be geographic.
(Currently, most non-U.S. domain names use a top-level domain
name based on the country the server is in.) To register a U. S.
geographic domain name or a domain name under a country code,
see an appropriate registrar.
On the Web, the domain name is that part
of the Uniform Resource Locator or URL that tells a domain name
server using the DNS (domain name system) whether and where to
forward a request for a Web page. The domain name is mapped to
an IP address (which represents a physical point on the
Internet).
More than one domain name can be mapped to
the same Internet address. This allows multiple individuals,
businesses, and organizations to have separate Internet
identities while sharing the same Internet server.
Sources: whatis.com
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