Domain Name Information

What is a Domain Name?

A domain name is a usable method of navigating the internet.

Originally the internet was comprised only of IP addresses, such as 202.124.241.200. Domain names were introduced to make the internet easier - it's a lot easier to remember a name like mywebname.com.au than it is to remember the 12 digits behind the name.

Domain names are comprised of 2 or more parts, separated by dots. For example, the domain icann.org has 2 parts - "icann" and "org". "org" is the top level domain, or the end of the name, and "icann" is the second level domain. The domain name "mbginteractive.com.au" has 3 parts - "mbginteractive", "com" and "au". The "au" is the top level domain, which is short for Australia. The "com" is the second level, which means that the domain name is a commercial business operating in Australia, and "mbginteractive" is the name that MBG Interactive chose for our website. This is also the third level in the domain "mbginteractive.com.au".

For worldwide domains, such as .com, .net, .org, .info & .biz, you can register domains at the second level - such as "icann.org". For Australian domains, you can register domains at the third level only - like "mbginteractive.com.au", or "mybusiness.net.au"

To register your own domain name today, simply click here

History of Domain Names

Domain names were created because they are easier to remember than numerical IP addresses. Every domain name is unique and is mapped to an IP address through the Domain Name System (or DNS for short).

There are 13 computers throughout the world called Root Servers, which hold the information containing the whereabouts for all top level domain names (.com, .info, .org, .au, .jp, .uk, etc). The top level domain names include universal names such as .com and .info, as well as country-based names such as .au and .uk.

Every top level domain has its own database where information concerning the location of 2nd level domains are held. For example, the .com database would contain the information about the whereabouts of the netregistry.com domain name, while the .au database would contain information about the whereabouts of the .com.au domain.

Some countries, such as Australia, sell domain names in the third level only - ie - domain.com.au. The information for domain.com.au would be stored in the .com.au database (or registry).

To register your domain name today, simply click here