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ccTLD
- Country Code Top Level Domain
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A
top-level domain containing a 2-character
abbreviation as defined by ISO 3166-1 (Codes for
the Representation of Names of Countries and Their
Subdivisions). As of November 1999 there were 243
country code top level domains (ccTLDs) registered.
Some examples are .us for the United States, .ca
for Canada, .jp for Japan, .de for Germany, etc.
ccTLDs are often contrasted to generic top level
domains (gTLDs). ccTLDs often have more restrictive
registration requirements including regional
requirements whereas gTLDs tend to be open to all
registrants around the world.
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Cooperative
Agreement
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A
type of contractual agreement often used by the
United States National Science Foundation (NSF)
that facilitates cooperation between private
organizations and the U.S. government for the
purposes of encouraging development of new
technology with the ultimate goal of turning that
technology over to the private sector. Network
Solutions entered into a cooperative agreement with
the National Science Foundation in 1993 to provide
Internet domain name registration services. That
agreement was transferred from NSF to the U.S.
Department of Commerce and is still in force
today.
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CORE
- Internet Council of Registrars
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Core
is a non-profit membership association of domain
names registrars founded as result of a plan
initiated by the Internet Society (ISOC) and the
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) in Fall
1996 to add newstructure, free enterprise and
competition to the Internet Domain Name System
(DNS) when the monopoly on .com, .org and .net was
to end in 1998.
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http://corenic.org/
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DoC
- United States Department of Commerce
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Domain
Name
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An
addressing construct used for identifying and
locating computers on the Internet. Domain names
provide a system of easy-to-remember Internet
addresses, which can be translated by the Domain
Name System (DNS) into the numeric addresses
(Internet Protocol (IP) numbers) used by the
network. A domain name is hierarchical and often
conveys information about the type of entity using
the domain name. A domain name is simply a label
that represents a domain, which is a subset of the
total domain name space. Domain names at the same
level of the hierarchy must be unique. Thus, for
example, there can be only one .COM at the
top-level of the hierarchy.
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DNS
- Domain Name
System
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A
distributed database of information that is used to
translate domain names (which are easy for humans
to remember and use) into Internet Protocol (IP)
numbers, which are what computers need to find each
other on the Internet. People working on computers
around the globe maintain their specific portion of
this database, and the data held in each portion of
the database is made available to all computers and
users on the Internet. The DNS comprises computers,
data files, software, and people working
together.
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DNSO
- Domain Names Supporting
Organization
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The
DNSO is a Supporting Organisation of ICANN
(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers). It advises the ICANN Board with respect
to policy issues relating to the Domain Name
System.
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http://www.dnso.org/
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gTLD
- Generic Top Level Domain
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A
top level domain name that is open to registrants
around the world in contrast to country code top
level domains that are often restricted to
registrants located in a particular country or
region. .com, .net and .org are all considered to
be generic top level domains.
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Green
Paper
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"A
Proposal to Improve Technical Management of
Internet Names and Addresses" prepared by the U.S.
Department of Commerce (DoC) as a means of making
recommendations to the Internet community and
obtaining their comments. The Green Paper was
released in January 1998 and was followed by a
comment period during which DoC received comments
from interested parties and organizations around
the world. In response to the comments received,
DoC published the policy statement referred to at
the White Paper.
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http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/dnsdrft.htm
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Host
- Name Server
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Also
called a name server. A computer that has both the
software and the data (zone files) needed to
resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP)
numbers.
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IANA
- Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority
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The
function that currently oversees registration for
various Internet Protocol parameters, such as port
numbers, protocol and enterprise numbers, options,
codes, and types. The IANA function is currently
located at the Information Sciences Institute at
the University of Southern California in Marina del
Rey, CA and functions under the direction of ICANN.
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http://www.iana.org/
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ICANN
- Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers
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An
international not-for-profit, private sector
organization created to coordinate four key
functions for the Internet: the management of the
domain name system, the allocation of IP address
space, the assignment of protocol parameters, and
the management of the root server
system.
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http://www.icann.org/
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IETF
- Internet Engineering Task Force
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An
international, voluntary body consisting of network
designers, engineers, researchers, vendors, and
other interested individuals who work together to
address and resolve technical and operational
problems on the Internet and develop Internet
standards and protocols. The IETF, which was formed
by the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), meets
three times a year, however the bulk of the
collaboration and work takes place on the various
mailing lists maintained by its
participants.
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http://www.ietf.org/
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IFWP
- International Forum on the White Paper
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A
group self-organized in June 1998 for the purpose
of creating an international forum that would
respond to White Paper recommendations.
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http://www.ifwp.org/
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Internet
Domain Name
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An
addressing construct used for identifying and
locating computers on the Internet. Domain names
provide a system of easy-to-remember Internet
addresses, which can be translated by the Domain
Name System (DNS) into the numeric addresses
(Internet Protocol (IP) numbers) used by the
network. A domain name is hierarchical and often
conveys information about the type of entity using
the domain name. A domain name is simply a label
that represents a domain, which is a subset of the
total domain name space. Domain names at the same
level of the hierarchy must be unique. Thus, for
example, there can be only one .COM at the
top-level of the hierarchy.
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IP
- Internet Protocol Number (IP address)
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A
unique, numeric identifier used to specify hosts
and networks. Internet Protocol (IP) numbers are
part of a global, standardized scheme for
identifying machines that are connected to the
Internet. Technically speaking, IP numbers are 32
bit addresses that consist of four octets, and they
are expressed as four numbers between 0 and 255,
separated by periods, for example: 198.41.0.52. IP
allocation for the Americas, the Caribbean, and
sub-Saharan Africa is currently handled by the
American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN). IP
allocation for Europe is currently handled by RIPE
(Reseaux IP Europeens). IP allocation for the
Asia/Pacific region is currently handled by the
Asia-Pacific Network Information Center
(APNIC).
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InterNIC
- Internet Network Information
Center
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InterNIC
is a registered service mark of the U.S. Department
of Commerce. InterNIC was the name given to a
project that originated in 1993 under a cooperative
agreement with the National Science Foundation
(NSF) enabling Network Solutions, Inc. to provide
domain name registration services in .com, .net,
.org, and .edu. The InterNIC name is no longer used
by Network Solutions for its services. The InterNIC
is currently the name of a Web site provided by the
U.S. Department of Commerce.
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http://www.interNIC.net/
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ISOC
- Internet Society
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The
Internet Society is a non-profit, non-governmental,
international,professional membership organization.
Its more than 175 organization and 8,600 individual
members in over 170 nations worldwide represent a
veritable who's who of the Internet
community.
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http://www.isoc.org/
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ITU
- International Telecommunication
Union
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The
ITU, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland is an
international organization within which governments
and the private sector coordinate global telecom
networks and services. The ITU is the leading
publisher of telecommunication technology,
regulatory and standards information.
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http://www.itu.int/
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Name
Server - Host
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Also
called a host. A computer that has both the
software and the data (zone files) needed to
resolve domain names to Internet Protocol (IP)
numbers.
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Name
Service
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Providing
individuals or organizations with domain
name-to-Internet Protocol (IP) number resolution by
maintaining and making available the hardware,
software, and data needed to perform this function.
Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) operate name
servers and provide their customers with name
service when they register a domain name. Most
individuals are not in a position to operate a name
server on their own and will need to make
arrangements for name service with an ISP or some
other person or organization.
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NTIA
- National Telecommunications and Information
Administration
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An
agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the
Executive Branch's principal voice on domestic and
international telecommunications and information
technology issues. NTIA is the agency within DoC
that manages the cooperative agreement with Network
Solutions and the Memorandum of Understanding with
ICANN.
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http://www.ntia.doc.gov/
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OT&E
- Operational Test and Evaluation
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A
process in which registrars licensed by the
VeriSign Global Registry Services develop client
systems and software to register and manage domain
names and name servers prior to live operation in
the Shared Registration System. The Shared
Registration System includes an isolated, shared
Operational Test and Evaluation server environment
that is used for both initial registrar system
development and ongoing registrar development and
testing. Prior to operation in the live Shared
Registration System, registrars must complete a
basic functional evaluation in the Operational Test
and Evaluation environment to demonstrate full and
correct operation of their client systems. The
evaluation must be completed without error before
registrars are given access to the live Shared
Registration System.
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Primary
Server
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The
name server that will be used first and will be
relied upon before any of the other name servers
that may be listed when a domain name is registered
with the registry. When registering names with
VeriSign Global Registry Services, registrars must
provide the name and IP address of a primary server
for the name.
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Registrar
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A
registrar provides direct services to domain name
registrants. The registrar database contains
customer information in addition to the DNS
information contained in the VeriSign Global
Registry Services database. Registrars process name
registrations for Internet end-users and then send
the necessary DNS information to a Registry for
entry into the centralized Registry database and
ultimate propagation over the Internet. There are
multiple registrars providing registration services
through VeriSign Global Registry Services.
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http://www.interNIC.net/
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Second
Level Domain Name
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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
top-level domain. For example, the nsiregistry in
nsiregistry.net. Second level domain names are
often descriptive and have come to be used
increasingly to represent businesses and other
commercial concerns on the Internet.
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SOA
- Start of Authority Resource Record
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A
type of record used in the distributed database
that is the Domain Name System (DNS) to indicate
that a particular name server contains
authoritative data for a particular
domain.
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TLD
- Top Level Domain
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In
the Domain Name System (DNS), the highest level of
the hierarchy after the root. In a domain name,
that portion of the domain name that appears
furthest to the right. For example, the com in
mydomain.com
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URL
- Universal Resource Locator
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An
address used to locate world wide web sites on the
Internet - e.g.,
http://www.NamesDirect.com
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SRS
- Shared Registry System
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