This glossary includes various terms relevant to the contents
of this site.
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Accredited Registrar: Registrar that has been certified as meeting
certain minimal criteria to act as a registrar for a specific TLD. This term is
almost solely used when referring to ICANN-certified registrars.
Administrative Contact: Individual, role or organization authorized to
interact with the registry or registrar on behalf of the domain holder. The
administrative contact should be able to answer nontechnical questions about
the domain name's registration and the SLD holder. In all cases, the
administrative contact is viewed as the authoritative point of contact for the
domain name, second only to the registrant.
Authorized Registrar: Registrar authorized by PIR to register .ORG
domain names. Authorized registrars have completed a rigorous business and
technical process. All .ORG-authorized registrars also are accredited by ICANN.
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Billing Contact: Individual, role or organization designated to receive
the invoice for domain name registration and re-registration fees.
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ccTLD: See
Country Code Top-Level
Domain.
Contact: Individuals or entities associated with domain name records.
Typically, third parties with specific inquiries or concerns will use contact
records to determine who should act on specific issues related to a domain name
record. Typically, there are three contact types associated with a domain name
record: the administrative contact, the billing contact and the technical
contact.
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC): Globally used
standard for time. UTC and GMT are essentially the same — both refer to time on
the zero or Greenwich meridian. Bodies such as ICANN and WIPO often use
universal time when referring to election dates and legal deadlines.
Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD): TLD
containing a two-character abbreviation, as defined by ISO 3166-1 (Codes for
the Representation of Names of Countries and Their Subdivisions). As of
November 1999, there were 243 registered ccTLDs. Some examples are .US for the
United States, .CA for Canada, .JP for Japan and .DE for Germany. ccTLDs often
are contrasted with gTLDs. ccTLDs often have more restrictive registration
requirements, including regional requirements, whereas gTLDs tend to be open to
all registrants around the world.
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DNS: See Domain Name System.
Domain Holder: See
Registrant.
Domain Name: Addressing construct used to identify and locate computers
on the Internet. Domain names provide a system of easy-to-remember text-based
Internet addresses, which can be translated by the DNS into the numeric
addresses (IP numbers) used by the network. A domain name is hierarchical and
often conveys information about the type of entity using the domain name. A
domain name is simply a label that represents a domain, which is a subset of
the total domain name space. Domain names at the same level of the hierarchy
must be unique. For example, there can be only one .ORG at the top-level of the
hierarchy and only one pir.org domain name at the next level of the hierarchy.
Domain Name System (DNS): Hierarchical
system by which easy-to-remember, text-based names such as "pir.org" are
associated with numeric Internet locations.
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EPP: See
Extensible Provisioning
Protocol.
Extensible Markup Language (XML): Markup language for
documents containing structured information. Structured information contains
both content (words, pictures, etc.) and some indication of what role that
content plays (for example, content in a section heading has a different
meaning than content in a footnote, which means something different than
content in a figure caption or table). Almost all documents have some
structure. A markup language is a mechanism to identify structures in a
document. The XML specification defines a standard way to add markup to
documents.
Extensible Provisioning Protocol (EPP): Connection-oriented,
application layer client-server protocol for the provisioning and management of
objects stored in a shared central repository. Specified in XML, the protocol
defines generic object management operations and an extensible framework that
maps protocol operations to objects. EPP is being discussed in the IETF
"provreg" Working Group.
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Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD): TLD name that
is open to registrants around the world, in contrast to ccTLDs, which often are
restricted to registrants located in a particular country or region. .ORG,
.INFO, .COM and .NET are examples of gTLDs.
GMT: Greenwich Mean Time. See
UTC.
gTLD: See
Generic Top-Level Domain.
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Host: A computer that has both the software and the
data (zone files) needed to link domain names to IP numbers; also called a name
server.
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IANA: See
Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority.
ICANN: See
Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers.
IETF: See
Internet Engineering Task Force.
Intellectual Property: The ownership of ideas and
control over the tangible or virtual representation of those ideas. Typical
examples are trademarks and service marks.
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA): 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 TLDs and oversight of the root name server system. Under ICANN,
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.
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):
The nonprofit organization that manages and coordinates the Domain Name System.
It focuses on preserving the stability of the Internet; promoting competition;
achieving broad representation of global Internet communities; and developing
policy through bottom-up, consensus-based processes.
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF): A large, open
international community of network designers, operators, vendors and
researchers concerned with the evolution of Internet architecture and the
smooth operation of the Internet. The task force is open to any interested
individual.
Internet Network Information Center (InterNIC): InterNIC
was the name given to a project that originated in 1993 under a cooperative
agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF) enabling Network
Solutions, Inc., to provide domain name registration services in .COM, .NET,
.ORG and .EDU. The InterNIC name is no longer used by Network Solutions for its
services. InterNIC currently is the name of a
Web site provided by ICANN and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Internet Protocol (IP): 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.
InterNIC: See
Internet Network
Information Center.
IP: See
Internet Protocol or
Intellectual Property.
IP Address: The numerical address by which a location on the Internet is
identified. Computers on the Internet use IP addresses to route traffic and
establish connections among themselves; people generally use the text-based
names made possible by the DNS.
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Name Server: See
Host.
Name Service: Maintains and makes available the hardware, software and
data needed to perform link text-based domain names and numeric IP addresses.
Many ISPs operate name servers and provide their customers with name service
when they register a domain name. Most individuals are not in a position to
operate a name server on their own and will need to make arrangements for name
service with an ISP or some other person or organization.
National Effect: Trademarks of national effect are intended to
explicitly encompass national trademark registrations and European community
trademark registrations (CTMs). Explicitly excluded from this definition are
U.S. state and other local registrations, as well as any registrations on a
supplemental or equivalent register.
NSI Registry Registrar Protocol (RRP): Developed by the Network
Solutions Registry for use within the .COM/.NET/.ORG SRS. As defined in RFC
2832, NSI RRP is a TCP-based 7-bit US-ASCII text protocol that permits multiple
registrars to provide second-level Internet domain name registration services
in the TLDs administered by a TLD registry. This protocol is considered
obsolete, superceded by EPP.
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Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E): Process in
which ICANN-accredited registrars develop client systems and software to
register and manage domain names and name servers prior to live operation in
the Shared Registration System (SRS). The SRS includes an isolated, shared
OT&E server environment that is used for both initial registrar system
development and ongoing registrar development and testing. Prior to operation
in the live SRS, registrars must complete a basic functional evaluation in the
OT&E environment to demonstrate full and correct operation of their client
systems. The evaluation must be completed without error before registrars are
given access to the Production SRS.
OT&E: See
Operational Test and
Evaluation.
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Registrant: Individual or organization that
registers a specific domain name. This individual or organization holds the
right to use that specific domain name for a specified period of time, provided
certain conditions are met and the registration fees are paid. This person or
organization is the legal entity bound by the terms of the relevant service
agreement with the registry operator for the TLD in question.
Registrar: Person or entity that, via contract with ICANN, registrants
and a registry, provides front-end domain name registration services to
registrants, providing a public interface to registry services.
Registry: Person(s) or entity(ies) responsible for providing registry
services, via contract with ICANN. Registry services include customer database
administration, zone file publication, DNS operation, marketing and policy
determination in accordance with the general principles outlined in RFC 1591. A
registry may outsource some, all or none of these services. PIR is the registry
for .ORG.
Registry Registrar Protocol (RRP): A protocol for the
registration and management of SLD names and associated name servers in both
TLDs and ccTLDs. See NSI RRP and EPP.
Registry WHOIS: WHOIS services made available by specific registries for
the domain names over which they have authority.
Request for Comment (RFC): The IETF document series,
begun in 1969, that describes the Internet suite of protocols and related
experiments. Very few RFCs describe Internet standards, but all Internet
standards are written up as RFCs.
Reseller: Some ICANN-accredited registrars have "resellers." The
registrar provides its resellers with the tools, such as back-end systems and
customer service, required to register domain names. Using its registrar s
systems, the reseller then has the ability to sell domain names to whomever it
wishes, such as the general public. In some ways, this is akin to the affiliate
programs that many online retailers have with other Web sites.
Resolve: Process by which domain names are matched with corresponding IP
numbers. Resolution is accomplished by a combination of computers and software,
referred to as name servers, that use the data in the DNS to determine which IP
numbers correspond to a particular domain name.
RFC: See
Request for Comment.
Root Server: A machine that has the software and data needed to locate
name servers that contain authoritative data for the TLDs (e.g., root servers
know which name servers contain authoritative data for .COM, .NET, .FR, .UK,
etc.). The root servers are, in fact, name servers and contain authoritative
data for the very top of the DNS hierarchy. Technical specifications currently
limit the number of root servers to 13. These machines are located around the
globe, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan.
RRP: See
Registry Registrar Protocol.
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Second-Level Domain (SLD): The second level of the DNS
hierarchy. For example "pir" in "pir.org" is a second-level domain.
Secure Socket Layer (SSL): A security protocol that
provides communications privacy over the Internet. The protocol allows
client/server applications to communicate in a way that is designed to prevent
eavesdropping, tampering and message forgery.
Shared Registration System (SRS): A domain name registration
system in which registry services are shared among multiple independent
registrars. Shared registration systems require a loose coupling between
registrars and a registry.
SLD: See
Second-Level Domain.
Sponsoring Registrar: Registrar responsible for the submission of the domain
name to the registry.
SRS: See
Shared Registration System.
SSL: See
Secure Socket Layer.
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Technical Contact: The individual, role or organization responsible for
the technical operations of the delegated zone. This contact likely maintains
the domain name server(s) for the domain. The technical contact should be able
to answer technical questions about the domain name and the delegated zone, as
well as work with technically oriented people in other zones to solve technical
problems that affect the domain name and/or zone.
Thick Registry: Registry in which all of the information associated with
registered entities, including both technical information (information needed
to produce zone files) and social information (information needed to implement
operational, business or legal practices), is stored within the registry
repository. While .ORG was run as a thin registry by VeriSign, PIR converted
.ORG into a thick registry.
Thin Registry: Registry in which some element of the social information
associated with registered entities is distributed between a shared registry
and the registrars served by the registry.
TLD: See
Top-Level Domain.
TLD Zone: A file that contains data describing a portion of the domain
name space for a specific TLD. Zone files contain the information needed to
link domain names to IP numbers. Zone files contain domain names, their
associated name server names and the IP addresses for those name servers.
Top-Level Domain (TLD): Name at the top of the DNS
naming hierarchy. TLDs appear in domain names as the string of letters
following the last (rightmost) period, such as "org" in "www.example.org". 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 TLDs are
recognized by the DNS. Commonly used TLDs include .ORG, .INFO, .NET, .EDU, .JP
and .DE.
Trademark: Name, symbol or other device identifying a product;
officially registered and legally restricted to the use of the owner or
manufacturer.
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UDRP: See
Uniform Dispute Resolution
Policy.
Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP): All
registrars in.ORG, .COM, .INFO and the other TLDs follow this policy from
ICANN. Under the policy, most types of trademark-based domain-name disputes
must be resolved by agreement, court action or arbitration before a registrar
will cancel, suspend or transfer a domain name.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL): The distinct address
that identifies each resource on the Internet. More formally, a URL is the
networked extension of the standard filename concept that can exist on any
machine on the network and can be served via any of several different methods.
An example of a URL is http://www.afilias.info/.
Universal Time: See
Coordinated Universal
Time.
URL: See
Uniform Resource Locator.
UTC: See Coordinated Universal Time. [link to word on
this page]
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W3C: See
World Wide Web Consortium.
Web-based WHOIS: A World Wide Web interface to WHOIS services.
WHOIS: A searchable database maintained by registries and registrars
that contains information about domain name registrations in the .COM, .NET,
.ORG, .EDU and ISO 3166 country code top-level domains. Also, the protocol, or
set of rules, that describes the application used to access the database.
WHOIS Server: The application server providing the WHOIS service.
WIPO: See
World Intellectual Property
Organization.
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): Organization
based in Geneva, Switzerland, responsible for promoting the protection of
intellectual rights throughout the world. It is one of the 16 specialized
agencies in the UN system of organizations.
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): 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.
W3C provides, among other services, 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
the use of new technology.
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XML: See
Extensible Markup Language.
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Zone Files: Files that contain data describing a portion of the domain
name space for specific domains. Zone files contain the information needed to
resolve domain names to IP numbers.
Other Glossaries top