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General Domain Name Information
Domain Name Definition
Practically speaking, your domain name (web address) is the core of your Internet identity,
your online brand. Your customers will remember this name and use it to find your web site,
your products or your services. And since no two parties can ever hold the same domain name (web
address) simultaneously, your internet identity is totally unique.
Technically, a domain name is a virtual name assigned to a location on the Internet. For example, the domain name
www.tivilon.com locates an internet address for "tivilon.com" at internet point
63.208.156.143 (IP address) and a particular host server named "www." The "com" part of the domain name reflects
the purpose of the organization or entity (in this example, "commercial") and is called the top-level
domain name. The "tivilon" part of the domain name defines the organization or entity and together
with the top-level is called the second-level domain name. The second-level domain name maps to
and can be thought of as the "readable" version of the internet address.
A third level can be defined to identify a particular host server at the internet address. In our
example, "www" is the name of the server that handles internet requests. (A second server might be
called "www2"). A third level of domain name is not required. For example, the fully-qualified
domain name could have been "tivilon.com" and the server assumed.
Subdomain levels can be used. For example, you could have "www.support.tivilon.com." Together,
"www.tivilon.com" constitutes a fully-qualified domain name. The part furthest to the left is most
specific and the part furthest to the right is the least specific (the same way we address
a letter to someone in the mail).
Second-level domain names must be unique on the Internet and registered with one of the
ICANN-accredited registrars for the .com, .net, and .org top-level domains. Where appropriate,
a top-level domain name can be geographic. (Currently, most non-U.S. domain names use a top-level
domain name based on the country the server is in).
On the Web, the domain name is that part of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that tells a domain
name server using the domain name system (DNS) whether and where to forward a request for a web
page. The domain name is mapped to an IP address (which represents a physical point on the Internet).
More than one domain name can be mapped to the same internet address. This allows multiple individuals,
businesses, and organizations to have separate internet identities while sharing the same internet
server. However, each specific domain name can only be mapped to one location.
Domain Name Availability
Domain names are registered to a single person or business for a period of time, usually divisible
by years (i.e. 1 year, 2 years). During this registration time, no one else can register that
same domain name unless if there is a trademark dispute on the name.
Before attempting to register a domain name, you will want to check and see if it is available by
performing a "whois." A whois allows you to look up who is registered to a particular domain
name. If no one is registered to the domain, then it is available for you to register.
Tivilon encourages its customers to register domains with either
VeriSign Network Solutions or
Dotster, both of which have a tool on
their web site to check to see if the domain is available or not.
Getting Your First Domain Name
Once you have checked the availability of the domain name you desire, and reviewed the
guidelines associated with that registration company, you can go ahead and place the order for the domain
name right on their web site. You will need to contact the Tivilon Support Team
for the domain name server (DNS) information (probably the last step of the registration before you get
asked to enter your credit card information).
Tivilon does not recommend parking your domain at a registration service and then later updating the record
with the Tivilon DNS information as this can severely delay the time it takes to get your domain
name set up on our server. So, please call us, during our normal business hours for our DNS information.
If you wish to have a domain extension that ends in something other than the Network Solutions or Dotster
choices, please contact
the Tivilon Support Team for help locating the appropriate registrar
of the extension you seek.
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