overview

generics

nations

territories

2LDs

alternatives?

values





related:

auDA

ICANN

timeline

     Domains

This profile offers an introduction to the international and Australian domain name regime, aka the DNS. It supplements the Internet Governance and Network & GII guides.

     contents of this profile

The following pages cover -

Generics - global or generic Top Level Domains (TLDs), such as dot-com, dot-org, dot-biz and dot-museum

Nations - country code TLDs (ccTLDs) such as dot-au, dot-nz and dot-UK

Territories - territorial ccTLDs such as those for Antarctica, Pitcairn Island and Christmas Island

2LDs - functional, geographic or institutional demarcations within the ccTLDs

Alternatives - contentious private domain schemes, unrecognised by ICANN and most devices on the net, such as the domains being spawned by New.Net

values - disagreement about the commercial worth of domain names and the valuation game.

This site features a separate profile on auDA, the Australian domain administrator, and the new dot-au rules.

There is also a detailed discussion of technical, policy and administrative issues - along with pointers to reports and academic studies - in our Network and Governance guides and the ICANN profile.

     orientation

In essence, domain names are simply addresses on the internet. All sites are identified with a multi-part numerical code, similar to a telephone number. An example is 123.9.325.421.

The number for each address is unique, so that traffic moves to and from the correct destination in cyberspace. Because few people are very good at remembering long strings of numbers the digits are 'resolved' into alphabetical names. That means finding this site, for example, can be as simple as punching www.caslon.com.au into your browser. (Initiatives such as ENUM have sought to extend that functionality.)

The net is based on a single hierarchy - the so-called root - which uses a few strategically located servers to direct traffic to sites and email addresses. A fundamental concern about alternative root proposals, discussed later in this profile, is that they involve separate hierarchies and roots. That's likely to cause problems for devices trying to resolve a name (does it relate to this number or that number?) - "collisions" in cyberspace - and has accordingly been criticised in ICANN's paper A Unique, Authoritative Root for the DNS. Another perspective is provided in John Klensin's paper (txt) on Role of Domain Name System and his A Search-based Access Model for the DNS paper (txt).

The hierarchy is reflected in the structure of domain names. The part of the name furthest to the right is the top level domain (TLD), either an indication that the domain is generic (gTLD, with 3 letters) such as a dot-com or that it is part of a national space (ccTLD, with two letters) such as the dot-au identifying names that are registered in Australia. The server on which the site or email box is located is independent of the national/generic identifier; many dot-au sites for example are hosted in the US.

The part of the name immediately to the left of the TLD is the second level domain (2LD), generally a demarcation within the ccTLD.

The hierarchy depends on central registers that serve as databases of all 'active' names. Some of the registries, such as that for dot-com, operate on a comercial basis. Most countries have a registry for names under their ccTLD (some third world nations have delegated their registries to other countries/service providers). Most registries are independent of domain name registrars, the bodies that process applications for a domain name - ensuring that each application meets policy rules for the ccTLD or gTLD and can thus be added to the registry's database.

Policy for ccTLD names – who is eligible for a name, and what names are allowed – is set by a domain name authority in each country. In the case of Australia that's auDA, a nonprofit body that is discussed in detail in a separate profile. Nations have considerable autonomy in setting policy for how their ccTLD is managed and are increasingly regarding each ccTLD as the 'sovereign property' of each government.

As the following pages suggest, there is thus quite a bit of variation in rules for who's eligible for a domain name, how much it costs and how it can be described.

     ownership

It is common to speak of 'domain name owners'. Strictly speaking that is not correct- like a telephone number the name is licensed/leased from the network operator - and it's more accurate to refer to a 'holder'. In the case of the internet the operator is IANA and ICANN, through agents such as VeriSign or delegates such as auDA.

The registration (license) in most countries is for a one or two year period, renewable thereafter, and generally involves payment of a registration fee. Those fees range from the equivalent of around US$5 to US$250.

The fee was envisaged as a useful measure to ensure that the holder had an interest in maintaining an active site, inhibit hoarding of registrations and of course fund registration activity since it is clear that administration does involve costs and voluntary schemes have not proved effective in the larger economies.



    next page  (gTLDs - dot-com, dot-org, dot-biz)