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Glossary Domain Name
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A
Advisory Committee
An Advisory Committee is a formal advisory body made up of representatives
from the Internet community to advise ICANN on a particular issue or policy
area. Several are mandated by the ICANN Bylaws and others may be created as
needed. Advisory committees have no legal authority to act for ICANN, but
report their findings and make recommendations to the ICANN Board.
AfriNIC - The
African Network Information Center
AfriNIC is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), and is a non-profit
membership organization responsible for the administration and registration of
Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in the Africa region.
ALAC -
At-Large Advisory Committee
ICANN's At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) is responsible for considering
and providing advice on the activities of the ICANN, as they relate to the
interests of individual Internet users (the "At-Large" community). ICANN, as a
private sector, non-profit corporation with technical management
responsibilities for the Internet's domain name and address system, will rely
on the ALAC and its supporting infrastructure to involve and represent in
ICANN a broad set of individual user interests.
On 31 October 2002, the ICANN Board adopted New Bylaws that establish the
ALAC and authorize its supporting At-Large organizations. (Article XI, Section
2(4) of the New Bylaws.) The New Bylaws, which are the result of ICANN's 2002
reform process, went into effect on 15 December 2002. ALAC is to eventually
consist of ten members selected by Regional At-Large Organizations,
supplemented by five members selected by ICANN's Nominating Committee. To
allow the ALAC to begin functioning immediately, the Transition Article of the
Interim Bylaws provides for the Board to appoint ten members (two from each of
ICANN's five regions) to an Interim ALAC.
Underpinning the ALAC will be a network of self-organizing, self-supporting
At-Large Structures throughout the world involving individual Internet users
at the local or issue level. The At-Large Structures (either existing
organizations or newly formed for this purpose) will self-organize into five
Regional At-Large Organizations (one in each ICANN region - Africa,
Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America/Caribbean, and North America). The
Regional At-Large Organizations will manage outreach and public involvement
and will be the main forum and coordination point in each region for public
input to ICANN.
APNIC - The
Asia Pacific Network Information Centre
APNIC is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), and is a non-profit membership
organization responsible for the administration and registration of Internet
Protocol (IP) addresses in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Korea,
China, and Australia.
ARIN -
American Registry for Internet Numbers
ARIN is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), and is a non-profit membership
organization established for the purpose of the administration and
registration of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in North America, parts of
the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa.
ASO - Address
Supporting Organization
The ASO advises the ICANN Board of Directors on policy issues relating to
the allocation and management of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. The ASO
selects two Directors for the ICANN Board.
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C
ccNSO - The
Country-Code Names Supporting Organization
The ccNSO is in the process of being established, with the ccNSO Assistance
Group preparing the recommendations that are currently under discussion. Upon
completion, the purpose of the ccNSO is to engage and provide leadership in
activities relevant to country-code top-level domains (ccTLD's). This is
achieved by 1) Developing policy recommendations to the ICANN Board, 2)
Nurturing consensus across the ccNSO's community, including the name-related
activities of ccTLD's; and 3) Coordinating with other ICANN SO's, Committees,
or constituencies under ICANN. The ccNSO selects one person to serve on the
board.
CCTLD - Country Code Top Level Domain
Two letter domains, such as .uk (United Kingdom), .de (Germany) and .jp
(Japan) (for example), are called country code top level domains (ccTLD's) and
correspond to a country, territory, or other geographic location. The rules
and policies for registering domain names in the ccTLD's vary significantly and
ccTLD registries limit use of the ccTLD to citizens of the corresponding
country.
Some ICANN-accredited registrars provide registration services in the
ccTLD's in addition to registering names in .biz, .com, .info, .name, .net and
.org, however, ICANN does not specifically accredit registrars to provide
ccTLD registration services.
For more information regarding registering names in ccTLD's, including a
complete database of designated ccTLD's and managers, please refer to http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld.htm.
Glossary Domain Name Top
D
Domain Name Resolvers
Scattered across the Internet are thousands of computers - called "Domain
Name Resolvers" or just plain "resolvers" - that routinely cache the
information they receive from queries to the root servers. These resolvers are
located strategically with Internet Service Providers (ISP's) or institutional
networks. They are used to respond to a user's request to resolve a domain
name - that is, to find the corresponding IP address.
DNS - Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the
Internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address - just like a
telephone number - which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is
called its "IP address" (IP stands for "Internet Protocol"). IP Addresses are
hard to remember. The DNS makes using the Internet easier by allowing a
familiar string of letters (the "domain name") to be used instead of the
arcane IP address. So instead of typing 207.151.159.3, you can type
www.internic.net. It is a "mnemonic" device that makes addresses easier to
remember.
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G
GAC -
Governmental Advisory Committee
The GAC is an advisory committee comprising appointed representatives of
national governments, multi-national governmental organizations and treaty
organizations, and distinct economies. Its function is to advise the ICANN
Board on matters of concern to governments. The GAC will operate as a forum
for the discussion of government interests and concerns, including consumer
interests. As an advisory committee, the GAC has no legal authority to act for
ICANN, but will report its findings and recommendations to the ICANN Board.
The Chairman of the GAC is Sharil Tarmizi of Malaysia. The Secretariat of the
GAC is based at the European Commission.
gTLD - Generic Top Level Domain
Most TLD's with three or more characters are referred to as "generic" TLD's,
or "gTLD's". They can be subdivided into two types, "sponsored" TLD's (sTLD's)
and "un sponsored TLD's (uTLD's), as described in more detail below.
In the 1980s, seven gTLD's (.com, .edu, .gov, .int, .mil, .net, and .org)
were created. Domain names may be registered in three of these (.com, .net,
and .org) without restriction; the other four have limited purposes.
Over the next twelve years, various discussions occurred concerning
additional gTLD's, leading to the selection in November 2000 of seven new TLD's
for introduction. These were introduced in 2001 and 2002. Four of the new TLD's
(.biz, .info, .name, and .pro) are un sponsored The other three new TLD's
(.aero, .coop, and .museum) are sponsored.
Generally speaking, an un sponsored TLD operates under policies established
by the global Internet community directly through the ICANN process, while a
sponsored TLD is a specialized TLD that has a sponsor representing the
narrower community that is most affected by the TLD. The sponsor thus carries
out delegated policy-formulation responsibilities over many matters concerning
the TLD.
A Sponsor is an organization to which is delegated some defined ongoing
policy-formulation authority regarding the manner in which a particular
sponsored TLD is operated. The sponsored TLD has a Charter, which defines the
purpose for which the sponsored TLD has been created and will be operated. The
Sponsor is responsible for developing policies on the delegated topics so that
the TLD is operated for the benefit of a defined group of stakeholders, known
as the Sponsored TLD Community, that are most directly interested in the
operation of the TLD. The Sponsor also is responsible for selecting the
registry operator and to varying degrees for establishing the roles played by
registrars and their relationship with the registry operator. The Sponsor must
exercise its delegated authority according to fairness standards and in a
manner that is representative of the Sponsored TLD Community.
GNSO -
Generic Names Supporting Organization
The GNSO is the successor to the responsibilities of the Domain Name
Supporting Organization (DNSO; see below) that relate to the generic top-level
domains.
The GNSO is the body of six constituencies, as follows: the Commercial and
Business constituency, the gTLD Registry constituency, the ISP constituency,
the non-commercial constituency, the registrar's constituency, and the IP
constituency.
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I
IANA -
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The IANA is the authority originally responsible for the oversight of IP
address allocation, the coordination of the assignment of protocol parameters
provided for in Internet technical standards, and the management of the DNS,
including the delegation of top-level domains and oversight of the root name
server system. Under ICANN, the IANA continues to distribute addresses to the
Regional Internet Registries, coordinate with the IETF and others to assign
protocol parameters, and oversee the operation of the DNS.
ICANN - The Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is an
internationally organized, non-profit corporation that has responsibility for
Internet Protocol (IP) address space allocation, protocol identifier
assignment, generic (gTLD) and country code (ccTLD) Top-Level Domain name
system management, and root server system management functions. Originally,
the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and other entities performed
these services under U.S. Government contract. ICANN now performs the IANA
function. As a private-public partnership, ICANN is dedicated to preserving
the operational stability of the Internet; to promoting competition; to
achieving broad representation of global Internet communities; and to
developing policy appropriate to its mission through bottom-up,
consensus-based processes. The DNS translates the domain name you type into
the corresponding IP address, and connects you to your desired website. The
DNS also enables email to function properly, so the email you send will reach
the intended recipient.
IDNs - Internationalized Domain Names
Internationalized Domain Names, or IDNs, are web addresses in your own
language. Many efforts are underway in the Internet community to make domain
names available in character sets other than ASCII. These "internationalized
domain name" (IDN) efforts were the subject of a 25 September 2000 resolution
by the ICANN Board of Directors, in which it recognized "that it is important
that the Internet evolve to be more accessible to those who do not use the
ASCII character set," but stressed that "the internationalization of the
Internet's domain name system must be accomplished through standards that are
open, non-proprietary, and fully compatible with the Internet's existing
end-to-end model and that preserve globally unique naming in a universally
resolvable public name space."
IETF -
Internet Engineering Task Force
The IETF is a large open international community of network designers,
operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the
Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is open to
any interested individual.
IP - Internet Protocol
The communications protocol underlying the Internet, IP allows large,
geographically diverse networks of computers to communicate with each other
quickly and economically over a variety of physical links. An Internet
Protocol Address is the numerical address by which a location in the Internet
is identified. Computers on the Internet use IP addresses to route traffic and
establish connections among themselves; people generally use the
human-friendly names made possible by the Domain Name System.
ISOC - The
Internet Society
The Internet Society is the international organization for global
cooperation and coordination for the Internet and its internetworking
technologies and applications. ISOC membership is open to any interested
person.
ISP - Internet Service Provider
An ISP is a company, which provides access to the Internet to organizations
and/or individuals. Access services provided by ISP's may include web hosting,
email, VoIP (voice over IP), and support for many other
applications.
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L
LACNIC -
Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry
LACNIC is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Latin America and the
Caribbean.
Glossary Domain Name Top
R
RGP - Redemption Grace Period
Problems and complaints relating to deletion of domain-name registrations
are very common. Businesses and consumers are losing the rights to their
domain names through registration deletions caused by mistake, inadvertence,
or fraud. Current procedures for correcting these mistakes have proven
inadequate. To move toward a solution to these problems ICANN developed the
RGP.
How it works:
Now, the "delete" of a domain name (whether inside or outside of any
applicable grace period) will result in a 30-day Deleted Name Redemption Grace
Period. This grace period will allow the domain name registrant, registrar,
and/or registry time to detect and correct any mistaken deletions.
During this 30-day period, the deleted name will be placed on
REGISTRY-HOLD, which will cause the name to be removed from the zone. (The
domain name will not function/resolve.) This feature will help ensure notice
to the registrant that the name is subject to deletion at the end of the RGP,
even if the contact data the registrar has for the registrant is no longer
accurate.
During the Redemption Grace Period, registrants can redeem their
registrations through registrars. Registrars would redeem the name in the
registry for the original registrant by paying renewal fees, plus a service
charge, to the registry operator. Any party requesting redemption would be
required to prove its identity as the original registrant of the name.
After the 30-day period when the domain name can be redeemed, there is a
5-day period when the domain essentially is pending deletion. This timeframe
is implemented to facilitate notice to all registrars before a domain is
finally deleted.
Registrar
Domain names ending with .aero, .biz, .com, .coop, .info, .museum, .name,
.net, .org, and .pro can be registered through many different companies (known
as "registrars") that compete with one another.
The registrar you choose will ask you to provide various contact and
technical information that makes up the registration. The registrar will then
keep records of the contact information and submit the technical information
to a central directory known as the "registry." This registry provides other
computers on the Internet the information necessary to send you e-mail or to
find your web site. You will also be required to enter a registration contract
with the registrar, which sets forth the terms under which your registration
is accepted and will be maintained.
Registry
The "Registry" is the authoritative, master database of all domain names
registered in each Top Level Domain. The registry operator keeps the master
database and also generates the "zone file" which allows computers to route
Internet traffic to and from top-level domains anywhere in the world. Internet
users don't interact directly with the registry operator; users can register
names in TLD's including .biz, .com, .info, .net, .name, .org by using an
ICANN-Accredited Registrar.
RIR - Regional Internet Registry
There are currently five RIR's: AfriNIC, APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC and RIPE NCC.
These non-profit organizations are responsible for distributing IP addresses
on a regional level to Internet service providers and local
registries.
RIPE and RIPE
NCC - Réseaux IP Européens
RIPE is an open and voluntary organization, which consists of European
Internet service providers. The RIPE NCC acts as the Regional Internet
Registry (RIR) for Europe and surrounding areas, performs coordination
activities for the organizations participating in RIPE, and allocates blocks
of IP address space to its Local Internet Registries (LIR's), which then assign
the addresses to end-users.
Root Servers
The root servers contain the IP addresses of all the TLD registries - both
the global registries such as .com, .org, etc. and the 244 country-specific
registries such as .fr (France), .cn (China), etc. This is critical
information. If the information is not 100% correct or if it is ambiguous, it
might not be possible to locate a key registry on the Internet. In DNS
parlance, the information must be unique and authentic.
Glossary Domain Name Top
S
SESAC -
Security and Stability Advisory Committee
The President's standing committee on the security and stability of the
Internet's naming and address allocation systems. Their charter includes a
focus on risk analysis and auditing. SESAC consists of approximately 20
technical experts from industry and academia as well as operators of Internet
root servers, registrars, and TLD registries.
SO - Supporting Organizations
The SOs are the three specialized advisory bodies that will advise the
ICANN Board of Directors on issues relating to domain names (GNSO and CCNSO)
and, IP addresses (ASO).
Glossary Domain Name Top
T
TLD - Top-level Domain
TLD's are the names at the top of the DNS naming hierarchy. They appear in
domain names as the string of letters following the last (rightmost) ".", such
as "net" in "www.example.net". The administrator for a TLD controls what
second-level names are recognized in that TLD. The administrators of the "root
domain" or "root zone" control what TLD's are recognized by the DNS. Commonly
used TLD's include .com, .net, .edu, .jp, .de, etc.
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U
UDRP - Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy
All ICANN-accredited registrars follow a uniform dispute resolution policy.
Under that policy, disputes over entitlement to a domain-name registration are
ordinarily resolved by court litigation between the parties claiming rights to
the registration. Once the courts rule who is entitled to the registration,
the registrar will implement that ruling. In disputes arising from
registrations allegedly made abusively (such as "cyber squatting" and
cyber piracy"), the uniform policy provides an expedited administrative
procedure to allow the dispute to be resolved without the cost and delays
often encountered in court litigation. In these cases, you can invoke the
administrative procedure by filing a complaint with one of the dispute-resolution
service providers.
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W
W3C - World
Wide Web Consortium
The W3C is an international industry consortium founded in October 1994 to
develop common protocols that promote the evolution of the World Wide Web and
ensure its interoperability. Services provided by the Consortium include: a
repository of information about the World Wide Web for developers and users;
reference code implementations to embody and promote standards; and various
prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new
technology.
WIPO - World
Intellectual Property Organization
WIPO is an intergovernmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland
responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual rights
throughout the world. It is one of the 16 specialized agencies of the United
Nations system of organizations.
WHOIS
Information about who is responsible for domain names is publicly available
to allow rapid resolution of technical problems and to permit enforcement of
consumer protection, trademark, and other laws. The registrar will make this
information available to the public on a "Whois" site. It is however possible
to register a domain in the name of a third party, as long as they agree to
accept responsibility -- ask your registrar for further
details.
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