Domain Name Glossary

Bulk Registration: Check and register up to hundreds of domain names at once with DiscountDomainRegistry's Bulk Registration Form. The form will check all domain names for availability and provide you with the option to register all available domain names.

Country Codes: A two-character domain name extension that stands for a country, such as the popular .ws and .tv ccTLDs. Currently, more than 240 country code top level domains (ccTLDs) exist. Other examples include .fr (France) and .cn (China). Country Codes can be restricted to registrants located in a specific country or area.

Cloaking: Hides a Web site's URL in the address bar of a user's browser. For example, if a URL shows http://discountdomainregistry.com/, the Web site might actually be located at http://discountdomainregistry.com/home. The masking simply displays the preferred URL over the actual page URL. This service is especially helpful when a URL is long or hard to remember.

DNS(Domain Name Server): In short, this is the system that translates IP addresses (numeric) into domain names (alphabetic) and vice versa. Also known as Name Servers, this system makes it possible to type in www.DiscountDomainRegistry.com instead of an address like 124.502.242.3.

Domain Control Panel: All domain names registered at DiscountDomainRegistry can be managed by the customer via DiscountDomainRegistry's real-time account management system. From the account management page, a customer can renew their domain name, add e-mail services or URL forwarding, change contact information, and more.

Domain Name: The first step in acquiring an Internet presence, a domain name is a unique identifier that provides individuals, businesses, and organizations a specific location on the Internet. Domains are used as an easy-to-remember alternative to IP addresses.

Expired Domains: Domains that have been previously registered but not renewed. These domains are made available to the public for registration. DiscountDomainRegistry plans to offer

Host: A machine connected to the Internet network where Web sites reside and are made available to other computers on the network (and their users).

ICANN: created in 1998, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a "not-for-profit corporation formed by private sector Internet stakeholders to administer policy for the Internet name and address system" under the direction of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. ICANN oversees the "technical management of the Domain Name System [DNS]," and the management and administration of Internet names and numbers on an ongoing basis.

IP Address or Number: A unique number consisting of four parts separated by dots. The IP address is how computers on the Internet connect . The address 123.45.678.9 is an example of an IP address.

ISP or Internet Service Provider: A company that provides access to the Internet.

Multilingual Domains: Domain names can be registered in native languages including Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Multi-lingual domain names are followed by .com, .net or .org in English (for example: ) These domains work just like any English-character name in that you can enter them into your browser and be taken to the corresponding Web site. You may need software or special keyboards to create the foreign character sets. In Spring 2001, French, Spanish and Portugese multi-lingual domain names will also become available.

Name Servers: Name servers are assigned by your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or Web hosting company. Name servers translate your domain name (alphabetic) into an IP Address (numeric). Every domain name must be associated with a minimum of two name servers (primary and secondary). Example of a Name Server format: ns1.DiscountDomainRegistryinc.com.

Registrant: The person or organization that successfully registers a particular domain name and possesses the right to use that domain name for a pre-determined time period (usually 1, 2, 5, or 10 years).

Registrar: As a domain registrar, DiscountDomainRegistry provides domain name registrations for Internet users. As a customer registers a domain name, DiscountDomainRegistry sends the requisite DNS data to the registry to be entered into their centralized database.

Registry: An organization responsible for infrastructure and for overseeing the central directory of a specific TLD (.com, .biz, ccTLDs such as .cn, .tv). A registry makes that information available throughout the Internet.

Registrar Transfer: You can transfer your domain from another registrar to DiscountDomainRegistry. You may do this to take advantage of management tools or to better manage multiple domain names. The transfer process is free, but ICANN does mandate that at least an additional year of renewal be included. The renewal will be added to the time left on your current registration and costs just $14.99. To transfer a domain, the owner contact information with your existing registrar must be current and must exactly match the WHOIS information listed by your current registrar. The transfer will not succeed if they do not match. A confirming e-mail will be sent to the administrative contact's e-mail address. The transfer process cannot be complete without this confirmation. Domains cannot be transferred until they have been registered with your current registrar for at least 60 days.

Renewal: In order to maintain ownership of your domain name, it is important that you renew your registration at the end of each registration term. DiscountDomainRegistry sends automatic renewal notices to customers at 90, 60, 30 and 1 day prior to expiration; at expiration; and a final notice at 39 days after expiration. To renew your domain name, simply log in to your DiscountDomainRegistry Domain Control Panel and choose the Renewal option.

TLD (Top Level Domains): Open to registrants throughout the world, TLD refers to the suffix attached to the end of Internet domain names. There are a limited number of predefined suffixes, including .com, .net, and .org.

URL Forwarding: This service allows you to forward your domain to any URL. URL Forwarding is free when you register a domain name with DiscountDomainRegistry. It is perfect for those who want to redirect their domain to another URL which is too long or too hard to remember. Free masked URL Forwarding is also available, which also allows you to forward your domain to any URL but hides the true URL of the web site.