DOMAIN NAMES
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A domain name consists of letters and numbers separated by dots and includes two or more labels (words). The last label in a domain name is usually a two-letter or three- letter code, known as a TOP-LEVEL domain. The other labels are limited to 63 characters each.
- A TOP-LEVEL domain is categorised by geography (country, state) and / or common topic (company, educational, institution).
- A HOST i s computer that other computers can use to gain information.
www ............................................. Server (host name) - The web server or website host
research ...................................... The Research Division of the company
microsoft ...................................... Company domain name - The name registered by the company that manages the
program. The name is usually chosen to accurately
represent the company
program. The name is usually chosen to accurately
represent the company
.com .............................................. Domain category (top level) - A commercial site
The original top-level domains are categorised by common topic.
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.com ................
.edu ................. .gov ................. .mil .................. .org .................. .net .................. .int .................. |
Commercial or company sites
Educational institutions - typically universities US government US military Organisations - originally clubs, associations and non-profits Network sites - including commercial ISPs International organisations (rarely used) |
Two-letter country codes categorise domains by country or region.
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.us ....................
.mx ................... .ca .................... .au .................... .fr ...................... .ch .................... .uk .................... |
United States
Mexico Canada Australia France Switzerland United Kingdom |
Some domain names ending with country codes may feature a further category - commercial sites in Australia all have domain names that end with .com.au and university sites use .edu.au.
- In the UK, names ending with .ac.uk are universities (academic), and names ending with .co.uk are companies.
- In Canada, many names feature province abbreviations - .on.ca for Ontario and .mb.ca for Manitoba.
Additional top-level domain names are becoming available:
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.biz .....................
.ebiz ................... .ecom ................ .firm ................... .inc ..................... .info .................... .law .................... .news ................ .norm ................. .pro ..................... .shop ................. .store ................. .tel ...................... .travel ................ |
Business
Electronic business Electronic commerce Profession business Corporations Content and research-related sites Legal profession News-related sites Individuals or family names Professional e-commerce Electronic storefronts Telephone Travel |
FULLY QUALIFIED DOMAIN NAME - FQDN
A fully qualified domain name is the complete domain name. This provides enough information to convert the domain name to an IP address. It must include the server (host) name, the registered domain name and the top-level domain.
A fully qualified domain name is the complete domain name. This provides enough information to convert the domain name to an IP address. It must include the server (host) name, the registered domain name and the top-level domain.
VIRTUAL DOMAIN NAME
This provides a company with a private web address, regardless of where the web is hosted. It allows the web address to be shorter and gives the prestige of its own web address for marketing and sales - e.g. http://www.smoothguide-internetfundamentals.com.
This provides a company with a private web address, regardless of where the web is hosted. It allows the web address to be shorter and gives the prestige of its own web address for marketing and sales - e.g. http://www.smoothguide-internetfundamentals.com.