Noun

domain name

1. (computing) a unique, case-insensitive, name, consisting of a string made up of alphanumeric characters and dashes separated by periods, that the Domain Name System maps to IP numbers and other information.

   RFC 822, P. Mockapetris, November 1983: This RFC introduces domain style names, their use for ARPA Internet mail and host address support, and the protocols and servers used to implement domain name facilities.

2. an identifier of a computer or site on the Internet
3. a domain -- that part of a domain name which (nominally) identifies an organization; a domain name delegated to an independent administrative authority who is then responsible for the management of that portion of the Domain Name System's namespace that consist of the delegated domain and all subdomains that are not delegated in turn.

Synonyms

• domain
• hostname
• subdomain

A domain name is an identification label that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet, based on the Domain Name System (DNS).

Domain names are used in various networking contexts and application-specific naming and addressing purposes. They are organized in subordinate levels (subdomains) of the DNS root domain, which is nameless. The first-level set of domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs), including the generic top-level domains (gTLDs), such as the prominent domains com, net and org, and the country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Below these top-level domains in the DNS hierarchy are the second-level and third-level domain names that are typically open for reservation by end-users that wish to connect local area networks to the Internet, run web sites, or create other publicly accessible Internet resources. The registration of these domain names is usually administered by domain name registrars who sell their services to the public.

Individual Internet host computers use domain names as host identifiers, or hostnames. Hostnames are the leaf labels in the domain name system usually without further subordinate domain name space. Hostnames appear as a component in Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet resources such as web sites (e.g., en.wikipedia.org).

Domain names are also used as simple identification labels to indicate ownership or control of a resource. Such examples are the realm identifiers used in the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), the DomainKeys used to verify DNS domains in e-mail systems, and in many other Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs).

An important purpose of domain names is to provide easily recognizable and memorizable names to numerically addressed Internet resources. This abstraction allows any resource (e.g., website) to be moved to a different physical location in the address topology of the network, globally or locally in an intranet. Such a move usually requires changing the IP address of a resource and the corresponding translation of this IP address to and from its domain name.

Domain names are often referred to simply as domains and domain name registrants are frequently referred to as domain owners, although domain name registration with a registrar does not confer any legal ownership of the domain name, only an exclusive right of use.

This article primarily discusses the group of domain names that are offered by domain name registrars for registration by the public. The Domain Name System article discusses the technical facilities and infrastructure of the domain name space and the hostname article deals with specific information about the use of domain names as identifiers of network hosts.

• Alternate Domain Names@ (5)
• DNS Protocol@ (98)
• Official TLD Registries (178)

• Disputed Domain Names (269)
• Globalization@ (13)
• Opinions (3)
• Resources (94)
• Software@ (19)

• For Sale or Auction (235)
• Name Search (54)
• Parking (0)
• Registrars (241)
• Unregistered Domain Lists (4)

• Domains Reregistered for Distribution of Unrelated Content - A Case Study of "Tina's Free Live Webcam"
  cyber.law.harvard.edu
  Research documenting 4525 domains registered by 'Tina's Free Live Webcam.' Each domain was previously used by another registrant, and Tina seems to have specifically sought to re-register the domains as they became available. Includes a discussion of the scope of this problem, policy implications, and possible solutions. (February 18, 2003)
• Public Suffix List
  publicsuffix.org
  An initiative of the Mozilla Foundation to record domain name suffices such as ".com" or ".co.uk" under which sub-domains for different entities are registrable. Includes FAQs, the list file, and instructions for registrars to submit changes.

• ICANN
  icann.org
  The non-profit corporation responsible for IP address allocation, protocol parameter assignment, as well as domain name and root server system management functions.