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The Domain Names I Buy Have Nameservers, Whois and More, What is This Stuff?

By Sherrie Chastain

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 05Mar2009 Word count: 500 Viewed: 69 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Nameservers are the Internet's equivalent to phone books. A nameserver maintains a directory of domain names that match certain IP addresses (computers). A Domain is the part of the URL that locates a group or entity on the Internet.

A Name Server is a host or computer server that has the software and the data (zone files) necessary to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. Domain names require a minimum of two name servers hosted on separate networks.

The information from all the nameservers across the Internet is gathered in a central registry. A Registry is a database associating DNS information with an individual, a legal entity or operational entity.

This makes it possible for visitors to access your Web site using a familiar domain name, instead of having to remember a series of numbers.

Nameservers on other networks can access information at the central registry up to 8 hours after registering .COM and .NET domains and up to 48 hours for all other domain extensions. This period is referred to as the propagation period. Propagation is the time frame a process undergoes while the request or modification is being completed.

The nameserver you use depends on where you set up your hosting account. Hosting is the storage space or capacity for a Web site on the Internet. An example of nameservers are ns43.domaincontrol.com and ns44.domaincontrol.com.

Some registrar's (a registrar has access to a domain registry and the ability to provide domain names to individuals and companies) require that domain names you buy must be registered through them if you want to use their system to register nameservers.

WHOIS is a central database which tracks domains and IP registrations and lists the owner contact email, phone number and address.

A Whois listing contains information associated with a domain name, such as its creation and expiration dates, the registrar of record, and various contacts (administrative, technical, etc.). Whois data is collected when a domain name is registered and is public information.

The Whois information appears whenever a person conducts a Whois search on a particular domain name. Unless you use a proxy service.

The second-level domain is the readable part of the domain name that is located immediately to the left of the dot. For example, the second-level domain in coolexample.com is "coolexample." You define the second-level domain when you register most domains.

However, there are some registries that restrict the second-level domain, such as .UK domains. Domains with this extension must include .CO. For example, coolexample.co.uk.

Second-level domains can be divided into further domain levels (for example, www.one.coolexample.com). These subdomains sometimes represent different computer servers within departments, but they can be created for any purpose. More than one second-level domain name can be used for the same IP address. An IP Address is a set of numbers divided by periods that specifies a location for the TCP/IP Protocol.

Hopefully this information helps when you're choosing domain names to buy.

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