What is a domain name? A domain name is a unique name, kind of like an e-mail address is unique, which is registered in a database called WHOIS through an organization called Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI). The domain name corresponds to a unique set of numbers called an IP (Internet Protocol) address. The reason we use domain names instead of IP addresses is that they are closer to our language. It would be difficult to market a site like this: “Go to 64.233.167.99 or 216.109.112.135 to search the internet!” A much easier way to do this is to say “Go to www.Google.com or www.yahoo.com to search the internet!” (Both Google and Yahoo are trade marked by Google, Inc., and Yahoo, Inc., respectively).
A domain name points to a computer called a “name server”. The name server knows that your domain name corresponds to your web hosting servers IP address and it routes the person who typed in your domain name to your web hosting server – to your web site. That is how people anywhere in the world can see your web site by typing your domain name.
In 1992, the National Science Foundation granted an exclusive contract to NSI to be the...