.COM:
The top-level domain originally intended for "commercial" entities,
but anyone can register a .com domain. This is the most recognized top-level
domain worldwide. Domains that are purchased that end in .com are generally
worth more in value than .net or .org.
|
.NET:
The top-level domain originally intended for internet or computer related
domains, but any person can register a domain with a .net extension. |
.ORG:
The top-level domain originally intended for non-profit organizations, but
anyone may now register a domain ending in org. |
.EDU:
The top-level domain created for four-year, degree-granting colleges and
universities. Only colleges and universities can register .edu domains.
|
.GOV:
The top-level domain created for agencies and branches of the United States
Federal Government. The General Services Administration (GSA) handles the
registration of .gov domain names. |
.MIL:
The top-level domain created for United States military entities. |
Administrative
Contact:
The administrative contact is an individual authorized to interact with
their domain registrar on behalf of the domain name registrant. The administrative
contact should be able to answer questions about the domain name's registration
and the domain name registrant. To put it more simply, if ~ohn Doe bought
a domain for his company, iohn Doe would more than likely label himself
or someone that he trusted at his company as the Administrative Contact.
|
Applet:
An applet is an embedded program on a web site. Applets are usually written
in the coding language called Java. They are mainly used for creating a
virtual or 3-dimensional object that may move or interact with the web site.
|
ASP
(Active Server Pages):
Active Server Pages enable web developers to make their sites dynamic with
database driven content. The code is mainly written in VB Script, and it
is produced on the server of the web site instead of the browser of your
web site visitors. The server reads the ASP code and then translates it
to raw HTNL. This means that the web site owner doesn't have to worry about
the visitor having the right tools to view the web site's dynamic content.
The only downfall to ASP is that since it is run from the server, it takes
longer for the pages to load because there are more steps involved in translating
the code. |
Audio
Streaming:
The process of providing audio content on a web site. This takes up a nice
amount of bandwidth, especially if you get a lot of visitors at your site.
Some hosts do not allow audio or video streaming because of this. If you
are going to want audio on your site, you should make sure that your host
supports audio streaming first. This is usually stated in their plans. |
|
Auto
Responder:
An automated program that acknowledges receipt of an e-mail message, and
then sends back a previously prepared email to the sender, letting them
know it was received or that certain actions are being taken. Most of
you probably already have a basic idea of what this is when you go on
vacation and you create an auto response at your work to let everyone
that emails you know that you will be away for the next week.
|
Backbone:
The main line of a series of connections within a network. |
Bandwidth:
This is the amount of data that is sent through a connection. If you have
a large web site, with many visitors, you will need a lot more bandwidth
than someone with a one page web site that gets 2 visitors a month. Some
hosting plans offer unlimited bandwidth, but most have limits or will just
make you pay for extra bandwidth because if a site is clogging their servers
with visitors, they want to get compensated for that. |
Billing
Contact:
The billing contact is the person designated to receive the invoice for
domain name registration and re-registration fees. The billing contact must
be a reliable, trustworthy source that will pay the re-registration dues
on time. So if John Doe appoints himself as Administrative contact1 he may
also want to be Billing Contact so that he will get the bill to renew his
domain. If you decide to register your domain through a host where THEY
fill out the information, please make sure that they specify YOU as administrative
and billing contacts and not THEM. There could be potential legal issues
if their name is all over your domain and YOU own it. Just be careful. It
is your domain - you paid for it - so make sure it is branded with your
name, unless for some reason you designated the host to be administrative
and billing contact. I would not recommend this though. If your host forgets
to pay to renew your domain in 2 or 3 years, you could lose it altogether
and never get it back. The only exception to this rule is the technical
contact. This contact should be your host~s name and not yours. Technical
contacts do not make important domain decisions like the Administrative
and Billing contacts do. |
CGI:
(Common Gateway Interface):
A CGI is a program that translates data from a web server and then displays
that data on a web page or in an email. Many people use CGI~s for guestbooks
and email forms. Some hosts have pre-made CGI scripts that are ready to
use and plug into a web site. |
Co-location:
Basically this is just owning a server but having it at another location.
This is great for people who want to own their own server, but do not want
the hassle of maintaining that server in their environment. |
Cookie:
If you have ever been to a web site like ivillage.com, iwon.com, or amazon.com,
you may notice your name on the page in a message like Welcome Back John'."
This is because your browser stored a tiny cookie file that enabled their
server to identify you from the first time that you registered with them.
This saves regular visitors or customers of your site time from having to
log in and log out every time they visit your site. |
Data
Transfer:
This is the amount of data that is transferred from an account as visitors
view the pages of the web site. If John Doe has a web site with lots of
video, audio, and images that gets many visitors per day, he would have
to make sure that he chooses a host that will allow his large amounts of
data to be transferred. If he chooses a host that only allowed 200 MB of
data transfer per month, and his site transferred 500 MB per month, then
the host may stop half of his visitors from viewing his site and he could
lose potential customers. Your best bet is to try to find a host that offers
unlimited data transfer or at least a Gig of transfer. A gig is more than
enough for most web sites. |
Domain:
Basically a .com, net, or org1 etc.minus the name before it. That is the
domain in technical terms. The domain NAME (described below) is the name
of the computer that resides on the space of that particular domain. Read
below for further explanation... |
Domain
Name:
A domain name is the identifying URL title and address of your web site,
such as www.ebay.com and www.sears.com. When a person types one of these
names into a browser, the computer actually reads that name's IP (Internet
Protocol) number and then relays the information that resides under that
number. When choosing your domain name, you must make sure you are not infringing
on a trademark because if there is a trademark related to the domain you
just bought, you will eventually have to turn the name over should the company
ask for it. In time, there may be extensions such as shop or .web and many
other creative extensions for individuals and businesses to use. Also, just
to note, the .com extensions are worth more in value because they are the
most widely used and the best known. It is also a smart marketing decision.
If your ebusiness should ever move up to television and/or radio advertising,
and even Internet advertising, most of the general Internet public remembers
.com extensions. And if they don't remember the extension at all but they
do remember the domain name, they will more than likely type the .com in
their browser. The .com extension also implies that the company has been
around longer and knows the ropes, even if it isn't true, it implies such.
A good analogy would be to think of the Internet is a new frontier, just
as America was many years ago. The first that arrived claimed the land,
and then sold it for incredible profits later on. So bottom line, if you
own land in the .com areas and it is a well picked, preferably short, valuable
name, you could be looking at a nice investment in the long run. |
Domain
Name System (DNS):
A distributed database of information that is used to translate domain names
into Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. In other words, computers need numbers
in order to function. The computer itself does not care whether you are
yahoo.com or google.com. It has no idea how to find the name and it needs
a number that identifies that name. So when you buy a domain, say www.whatever.com,
it is nothing until you get it hosted somewhere and until that host assigns
a number to your domain. A good analogy of this would be social security
numbers and humans. Humans are identified primarily by their names, but
government organizations use social security numbers to identify the person
behind that name. |
Domain
Name Disputes:
Disputes that arise over conflicting positions as to who has the right to
register a specific domain name. Disputes often occur when a domain name
that is the same, or similar to, a valid registered trademark is registered
by someone that is not the owner of the registered trademark. For example,
if John Doe registered the domain amozon.com, the real Amazon.com could
say that this is too similar to their registered trademarked company and
that it may confuse visitors and customers, especially if John Doe created
a site that mocked Amazon.com's services. The best way to avoid any legal
issues later on is to come up with a unique name for your domain and to
make sure that it isn't a registered trademark first. |
Domain
Name Space:
The domain name space is the total of domain names that currently represent
networks and computers, as well as all of the possible domain names that
may potentially represent networks and computers. The name is quite self-explanatory.
Think of it like a galaxy or solar system consisting of millions of starts
and planets, only instead of stars and planets, there are domains. |
Encrypted
Password:
A password that has been scrambled to protect it from being discovered and
used by someone other than the person to whom it belongs. |
Finger:
An Internet tool for finding out if a person has an account with a certain
Internet site. |
FTP:
(File Transfer Protocol)
This is the process of transferring files to a web site's server. For example:
If John Doe were to create his web site on his local computer at home, he
would need a way to get that web site to the actual server that hosts his
site so that the public can see it. There are many programs he can use to
do this7 but if he has Windows 98, then he more than likely already has
an easy tool to use called Windows Web Publishing Wizard. To see if you
have it go here: Start > Programs > Microsoft Web Publishing > Web Publishing
Wizard. If you do not have this, there is a free FTP program called WS_FTP
and you can download it at download.com. Once John Doe has his a folder
on his local drive full of everything he wants to upload to the server,
he can use one of the FTP programs to upload it. |
Gigabyte
(Gig):
Equivalent to approximately 1000 megabytes. |
Host
(Name Server):
When you hear the term "host" in the Internet world, it is referring to
an Internet company that has the required servers and software to connect
domain names to (IP) Internet Protocol numbers so that your site can be
viewed by the public when they type your domain in their browser window.
Basically this is where you house your site, and you usually have to pay
a monthly or annual fee for this service. There are free hosts, but in most
cases, in order to use their services you must put one of their advertisement
banners on your site, and most of them limit what you can do with your site.
Sometimes it is better to pay $8/month for a host because it gives you more
freedom and is ad free expect for the ads you post yourself. |
HTTP:
(Hyper Text Transport Protocol)
This is the protocol for transferring files across the Internet. You see
it every time you type a web site in your browser http://... |
HTML:
This is the code that web pages are written in. The next time you visit
a web site, go to View > Source on your browser to take a look at what the
coding of a web site looks like. |
Internet
Protocol (IP) Numbers (IP addresses):
A unique number used to specify hosts and networks. Internet Protocol (IP)
numbers are used for identifying machines that are connected to the Internet.
An example of an IP number is 204.143.154.60. |
Internet
Service Provider (ISP):
A company that provides access to the Internet, such as AOL, Prodigy, etc.
Allows users to dial up through a modem, DSL, or cable connection to view
the information on the internet. |
InterNIC:
InterNIC was the name given to a project that provided domain name registration
services in com, net, org, and edu. Now that the project has ended, other
companies can now offer domain registration. Companies such as Network Solutions
and Register.com now do what InterNic used to do. |
Invoice:
The bill for a domain name registration or re-registration fee. Invoices
are sent to the billing contact by postal mail and e-mail. This is why it
is so important to appoint a reliable person as the billing contact. The
invoice will go to them. |
Megabyte:
A million bytes or 1000 kilobytes. |
Name
Server:
Also called a host or a name server. A computer that has both the software
and the data needed to resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers.
Most name servers have names like NS1.whatever.com. |
NIC
Handle:
A NIC Handle is a unique identifier, which can be up to 10 alphanumeric
characters, assigned to each domain name record, contact record, and network
record in Network Solutions' domain name database. NIC handles can save
time and ensure accuracy in domain name records. |
POP:
POP stands for Post Office Protocol. This is a protocol used to retrieve
e-mail from a mail server. Most e-mail applications use the POP protocol.
The newest and most widely used version of POP email is POP3 email. You
will see the term POP3 in most of the web hosting plans available today. |
Primary
Server:
The designation of "primary" means that this name server will be used first
and will be relied upon before any of the other name servers. |
Re-registration:
The process of renewing a domain name's registration for a specified period
of time. This is accomplished by paying the re-registration fee that covers
the amount of years you are renewing the domain for. |
Registrant:
The 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" of that web site. |
Registration:
The process through which individuals and organizations obtain a domain
name. Registration of a domain name enables the individual or organization
to use that particular domain name for a specified period of time, or as
long as the required fees are paid. |
Registration
Fee:
The charge for registering a Web Address or domain name. |
Registration
Forms:
Forms that are used to submit and process registration requests. These forms,
which include the Domain Name Registration Agreement, Contact Form, and
Host Form, are used to register new domain names, new contacts for domain
names, and new hosts (name servers) as well as to update domain name, contact,
and host records. There are both Web versions and plain text (ASCII) versions
of the forms. |
Resolve:
The term used to describe the process by which domain names are matched
with corresponding Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. "Resolution" is accomplished
by a combination of computers and software, which use the data in the Domain
Name System to determine which IP numbers correspond to a particular domain
name. Basically, it is translating a number to the name you see in your
browser for the web site you are visiting. |
Root:
The top of the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy. |
Root
server:
A machine that has the software and data needed to locate name servers that
contain authoritative data for the top-level domains. |
Second
Level Domain:
In the Domain Name System (DNS), the next lower level of the hierarchy underneath
the top-level domains. In a domain name, that portion of the domain name
that appears immediately to the left of the .com, net, org, etc.) For example,
the acehosts.com would be the second level domain for this web site. The
top-level domain is .com. |
Secondary
Server:
The name server will be used as a backup for the primary name server in
the event that the primary server becomes unavailable. |
Server:
A computer, or a software package, that provides a specific kind of service
to client software running on other computers. It is basically a computer
with the right tools required to "serve" others. |
Server
Side Includes (SSI):
Commands that can be included in web pages that are processed by the web
server when a user requests a file. The command takes the form .
A common use for SSI commands is to insert a universal menu into all of
the pages of the web site so that the menu only has to be changed once and
inserted with SSI instead of changing the menu on every page. |
SMTP
(Simple Mail Transport Protocol):
The main protocol used to send electronic mail on the Internet. Most Internet
email is sent and received using SMTP. |
SSL
(Secure Sockets Layer):
A protocol used to enable encrypted, authenticated communications across
the Internet. SSL provides privacy, authentication, and message Integrity.
In an SSL connection each side of the connection must have a Security Certificate,
which each side's software sends to the other to ensure ultimate security.
URL's that begin with "https" indicate that an SSL connection will be used.
|
T-1:
A connection capable of carrying data at 1,544,000 bits-per-second. T-1
is the fastest speed commonly used to connect networks to the Internet.
|
T-3:
A connection capable of carrying data at 44,736,000 bits-per-second. |
Telnet:
The program used to login from one web site to another. |
Technical
contact/Agent:
The technical contact is the person or organization that maintains the primary
domain name server. The technical contact should be able to ~nswer technical
questions about the domain name's primary domain name server. |
Third
Level Domain:
The next highest level of the hierarchy underneath the second level domains.
In a domain name, it is the portion of the domain name that appears two
segments to the left of the top-level domain. For example, the whatever
in whatever.ta.us. |
Top-level
Domain:
The highest level of the hierarchy after the root. That portion of the domain
name that appears to the far right such as the com in acehosts.com. |
UNIX:
A computer operating system designed to be used by many people at the same
time. |
URL
(Uniform Resource Locator):
The standard way to give the address of any resource on the Internet that
is part of the World Wide Web (WWW). A URL looks like this: http ://www.acehosts.com/index.
html |
Video
Streaming:
The process of providing video data or content via a web page. |
|
Whois:
A searchable
database maintained by Network Solutions, which contains information about
networks, networking organizations, domain names, and the contacts associated
with them for the com, org, net, 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. Other organizations have implemented the
Whois protocol and maintain separate and distinct Whois databases for
their respective domains.
|
Zone:
A portion of the total domain name space that is represented by the data
stored on a particular name server. |
Zone
File:
A file that contains data describing a portion of the domain name space. |
