Domain Name Guide - Server101.com

Domain Guide

A Domain Name is the addressing of a computer or website on the Internet. A Domain points to a computer(server) on the Internet which has an IP Address. An IP Address is a unique numerical string of numbers assigned to every computer on the Internet. Domain Names are indexed on DNS Servers which are comparable to huge database driven address books for the Internet. When you type in the address of a website into Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer your browser is actually requesting information from a DNS Server normally located at your ISP.

There are thousands of DNS Servers all over the Internet each continually updating its records. These DNS Servers update their information on a daily or sometimes twice daily basis from Authorative Servers for each TLD. When a customer changes the information regarding the domain it is recorded on the Authorative DNS Server.

The Authorative DNS Server will usually handle all the records for one TLD. For example all of the .ca's will be held on one server while all of the .com.au's will be held somewhere else. When it comes time for a DNS Server to do its daily update it will request the information from each of the TLD's Authorative DNS Server and make the necessary changes to its records.

What do I do ?
The following section is divided up into 4 sections New Domains, Existing Domains, Domain Troubleshooting & Glossary of Domain Name Related Terms.

New domains will help you with the process of registering a new domain and setting it up with your Server101 account. If you already have a domain and would like to move it to Server101 follow the guide most applicable to you under Existing Domains.

The Domain Troubleshooting section will provide you with the answers to common issues that many people experience during the process of moving their domain. If you don't understand any of the terms in this guide you can always have a look at the last section Glossary of Domain Name Related Terms.