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DOMAINS AND DNS
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| What
is Propagation? |
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| Glossary |
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| DNS |
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| The Internet was built on the notion
that any computer on a global network can be identified by its numeric
Internet Protocol (IP) address. But since people, and not machines,
are the primary users of the Internet, a more people-friendly naming
system called the Domain Name System (DNS) was invented. DNS maps
a host name like www.opensrs.org to the IP address of the machine
that hosts the OpenSRS web site. For example, DNS actually maps the
host name www.opensrs.com to the IP address 207.136.98.175
DNS is built upon the notion that some server's are 'authoritative'
(meaning, knows all there is to know) for certain domains. A distributed
name server hierarchy, beginning with the A Root Server and ending
at the thousands of nameservers active on the Internet, ensures
that the naming and directing system works the same from anywhere.
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| Domain
Name |
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| A domain name is essentially a signpost
on the Internet. Almost every website you've ever been to, and every
email you've ever composed, has used a domain name in its address.
People register domain names in order to 'stake a claim' to a particular
name -- whether for business or personal reasons. Once a domain
name is registered to a person or company, it is that person's to
use exclusively as long as they continue to pay the yearly renewal
fee and abide by the terms of use - assuming that the domain name
they register is not protected by copyright or trademark laws.
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| TLD (Top Level Domain) |
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| The portion of a traditional domain name that comes after
the dot. So, in opensrs.org, the top level domain is .org. The
generic top level domains (gTLDs) are .com, .net and .org; there
are also country code top level domains (ccTLDs) such as .ca,
or .uk. |
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| SLD (Second Level Domain) |
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| The portion of a traditional domain name that comes before
the dot. So, in opensrs.org, the second level domain is opensrs. |
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| (gTLD)
Generic Top Level Domain |
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| gTLDs are top level domains that are not associated with any
country. Currently, the only gTLDs in existence are .com, .net
and .org. Originally, the top level domain designation was meant
to denote whether the domain name was being used for business
(.com), charity/non-profit (.org), or for a network (.net).
However, with the explosion of the Internet (and specifically,
the world wide web) as a new business medium, the lines were
blurred, and companies and individuals alike started cross-registering
domains (ie. me.com, me.net, me.org) just to protect their interests.
Now, .com, .net, and .org names (the generic Top Level Domains)
can be used for any purpose. |
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| ccTLD (Country
Code Top Level Domain) |
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| Every country (and a few territories) in the world has a reserved,
two letter country code domain that is theirs to use as they
see fit. Some countries run their own ccTLD registry, others
outsource it to a private company, and still others sell rights
to their ccTLD to third parties to run as they see fit.
Examples of ccTLDs are .ca (Canada), .us (United States),
and .to (Tonga). In general, these are registered by businesses
with a coincidental link to the TLD in question.
For example: .to is used more by Torontonians than Tongans
and .tv has more American television content than native Tuvalu
culture.
See also: DNS
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| Domain
Registrar |
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| A "Registrar" (or "Domain
Name Registrar") is an organization like OpenSRS or Network Solutions
that has control over the granting of domains within certain TLDs
(top level domains, like the generic .com/.org/.net or country-specific
.ca/.us/.mx etc.). |
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| Domain
Registry |
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| The 'Registry' is the system backend
that is maintained by the operators of the TLD. Registrar's write
new names to a central registry database, from which the authoritative
root (essentially, a table of all domain names) is built. In the case
of .com, .net and .org, the InterNIC runs the registry, and qualified
registrars have shared access to it. In the case of many ccTLDs, the
registry and registrar functions are combined within one entity. |
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| Domain
Registrant |
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| A registrant is the person or company
who registers a domain name. For example, Jessica Smith (registrant)
registers the name jessicasmith.com through OpenSRS (registrar) who
in turn writes the name to the central database (Registry). |
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| Domain
Renewal |
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gTLDs:
Domains are leased on an annual basis, and need to be renewed once
the current payment for the lease expires. If a domain is registered
on April 15, 2000 and prepaid for one year, it will be due for renewal
on April 15, 2001, at which point the registrant either pays for additional
years, or lets the name expire. Domains can also be pre-paid for multiple
years, up to a maximum of 10 years.
ccTLDs:
The *.uk registry, Nominet, has set registration and renewal periods
for all .uk names at two years.
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| Domain
Transfer |
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| The term 'transfer' has been used
to describe various kinds of domain name transfers. Traditionally,
simply changing the nameservers providing name service for a domain
was considered a transfer. Nowadays, such a modification is more rightly
called a modification, and the term 'transfer' describes the transfer
of a domain from one registrar to another. |
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| ICANN |
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| The Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the non-profit corporation that was formed
to assume responsibility for the IP address space allocation, protocol
parameter assignment, domain name system management, and root server
system management functions previously performed under U.S. Government
contract by IANA and other entities.
For more information about ICANN, please visit: http://www.icann.org
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| InterNIC |
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| The InterNIC maintains the root domain
registry, containing nameserver and registrar information for all
.com, .net and .org domains. When an end user registers a domain name
through an OpenSRS RSP, OpenSRS updates it's own database with the
full WHOIS information, and passes select domain information up to
the root registry. |
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| Name
Servers |
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| Nameservers (or Domain Name Servers)
are the machines that perform the DNS function, containing zone files
listing all the hosts on their network, and their corresponding IP
addresses. If a nameserver is unable to determine which IP address
a given hostname (i.e. www.opensrs.org) should map to, it will at
least be able to point to another nameserver, which will either contain
the information, or pass the request on until the correct nameserver
is found. |
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| Nominet |
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| The Nominet is the registry for all
.uk domain names, serving a simlar function as the NSI registry does
for the gTLDs. Tucows is an authorized Nominet agent. |
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| OpenSRS |
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| OpenSRS is a wholesale domain name
registration service that uses Open Source principles to ensure equal
participation for as many companies and individuals as possible. Sponsored
by Tucows.com, OpenSRS has been accredited as a domain registrar by
ICANN and recognized by the United States Government and Network Solutions.
For more detailed information on OpenSRS, see End
User FAQ #4. The End
User FAQ and General
FAQ are also good sources for general information about OpenSRS
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| Registration
Service Provider |
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| Under the OpenSRS model, the Registration
Service Provider resells domain names through OpenSRS and sells them
to individuals or businesses. RSPs are generally Internet based service
providers, either running a domain registration business as a 'value
add' to their core business, or in some cases, as their core business.
RSPs also provide all technical support to domain registrants. |
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| UDRP |
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| The Uniform Dispute Resolution policy
is a document which governs how domain name disputes will be resolved
within the gTLD namespace. It defines the conditions under which a
genuine dispute may arise, and provides guidelines for administrative
proceedings to settle the issue, outside of a court where possible.
All registrants registering domains through OpenSRS (or any other
registrar) are bound by the UDRP. The UDRP can be found at: http://www.opensrs.org/legal/udrp.shtml
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| Web
Hosting |
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One service often closely associated with domain names is web site
hosting. The World Wide Web is a massive collection of web sites,
all hosted on computers (called web servers) all over the world.
Because of the web's uniquely global nature, a web site should be
accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Rather than pay to
have a 24/7 dedicated Internet connection to an in-house webserver,
many people opt to host their sites with a web hosting provider.
Web hosting clients simply upload their web sites to a shared (or
dedicated) webserver, which the ISP maintains to ensure a constant,
fast connection to the Internet.
http://www.mordesigns.com/hosting/
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| WHOIS |
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| WHOIS databases contain nameserver,
registrar, and in some cases, full contact information about a domain
name. Each registrar must maintain a WHOIS database containing all
contact information for the domains they 'host'. A central registry
WHOIS database is maintained by the InterNIC. This database contains
only registrar and nameserver information for all .com, .net and .org
domains.
For more information on WHOIS, see: http://www.opensrs.org/whois/newwhois.shtml
and http://www.opensrs.org/Support_FAQ.shtml#Live_whois_confusion.
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| Change
your DNS info on your domain name |
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When hosting with MOR Designs, you need to "point" your
site to the MOR Designs servers. This is done by changing the DNS
information for that domain name.
Access your control panel on your domain name registrars site.
This will require a Username and Password [that you received when
you bought the domain name].
Find the section that's similar to "Change or Update DNS info".
You'll then replace the information that is currently there with
the nameserver information that came with your MOR Designs welcome
email. You'll see 2 nameservers and 2 IP addresses:
NS1.MORDESIGNS.COM - 72.34.44.71 - (Primary Nameserver)
NS2.MORDESIGNS.COM - 72.34.44.72 - (Secondary Nameserver)
By entering this information, you are instructing the DNS system
that requests for your domain name are directed to the MOR Designs
servers.
It's normal for DNS propagation to take up to 72 hours, and for
your site to be accessible via your domain name.
If you can't find a control panel on the registrars site, email
their support staff and tell them what you want to do.
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Access your domain before
propagation
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To access your site before the domain has propagated, type in the
server's IP address and append the username of the account with
a tilde (~).
This would look like: http://serverIP/~username
This info can be found in your MOR Designs Welcome email.
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| Domain
propagation antics!! |
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A lot of support requests that we receive via the Helpdesk are
about domain propagation and clients not being able to view their
newly created sites. This article will go about trying to explain
what is happening and why you can't view your new site whereas someone
else can view your site.
You've just opened your new hosting account with MOR Designs, and
you've gone along to your domain registrar and updated the DNS info
for that domain so that it now points to your account on the MOR
Designs servers. Your site will not become visible by the domain
name for probably 48 hours. Why is this taking so long, you ask?
Basically all the ISPs around the net have to update their DNS cache
and this takes time.
There are various reasons, but some studies have suggested that
there are literally millions of DNS servers that need to be notified
of the new information!
Propagation takes two forms, changes to your DNS Zone and changes
to your WHOIS information. The WHOIS is the master record that tells
every DNS server in the world which is the authoritative server
for your domain (your MOR Designs DNS servers). A change to your
WHOIS information (done through your domain registrar) can take
up to 72 hours to propagate fully. A change to your DNS Zone information
typically affects only a handful of servers, and so is done much
more quickly.
You can also access the site via the http://SERVERIP/~username.
Check the "SERVERIP" from your welcome email.
A common question we get is "why can I access the site but
my client cannot access the new site"? The answer to this is
that your ISP has updated its DNS information and the ISP of your
client has not yet updated their DNS info. Hence you are looking
at the new location of the domain name, whereas your client will
still be looking at the old location.
Use this page to check the WHOIS and other nameserver checks for
your domains - http://www.verisign-grs.com/whois/.
Because you can see the updated information on this page doesn't
mean that your site is viewable at its new location by everyone
from around the net. True domain propagation takes up to 72 hours,
maybe even longer.
So, hang in there and ride out the domain propagation waiting game.
It'll be well worth it!
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| Tell
me all about DNS and how it works |
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http://www.zoneedit.com/doc/dns-basics.html
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| What
is Propagation? |
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| Merriam-Webster defines propagation
as:
The act or action of propagating : as in -
a: increase (as of a kind of organism) in numbers - b: the spreading
of something (as a belief) abroad or into new regions - c: enlargement
or extension (as of a crack) in a solid body
For our purposes, definition B is most appropriate. Quite literally,
propagation is the time during which your DNS Zone information is
spread abroad to servers that didn't know about it before.
Why does it take so long? There are various reasons, but some studies
have suggested that there are literally millions of DNS servers
that need to be notified of the new information!
Propagation takes two forms, changes to your DNS Zone and changes
to your WHOIS information. The WHOIS is the master record that tells
every DNS server in the world which is the authoritative server
for your domain (your MOR Designs DNS servers). A change to your
WHOIS information (done through your domain registrar) can take
up to 72 hours to propagate fully. A change to your DNS Zone information
typically affects only a handful of servers, and so is done much
more quickly.
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