The following definitions are not inclusive, but provide a good starting point for terminology related to hosting technology, e-commerce and domain management.
| Computing |
Local Name Server - A server, usually maintained by an ISP, that retrieves and stores domain information, such as hostnames and addresses. Local name servers cache resolved hostname information, so that the user may access infomration more quickly. This provides a faster retrieval of information, but can sometimes result in a display of old information. |
| Computing |
Location Box (see Address Bar) |
| Computing |
Mail Exchanger - A Internet-connected computer that processes or forwards e-mail messages sent to a domain name. |
| Computing |
Mail Server - An Internet-connected computer set up to receive e-mail from another server and distribute it to users, and to send e-mail from those users to another server. |
| Computing |
Mini-Site (see One-Page Mini-Site) |
| Computing |
Modem - Acronym for modulator/de-modulator. A hardware device that allows a computer to transmit and receive information over telephone lines. A modem converts digital data from computers into analog data that can be transmitted over the telephone lines. Traditional modems can carry data at speeds of up to 56Kbps. |
| Computing |
MX Record (Mail Exchange Record) - Instructions within a Domain Name System (DNS) record that routes e-mail for a particular domain to the proper mail server. |
| Computing |
Name Server - A computer that maps domain names (such as "mycompany.com") to IP addresses (such as "123.123.4.5"). For a domain name to be functional, it must be associated with at least one name server. |
| Computing |
Name Service (see Domain Name Service) |
| Computing |
NamePrivacy Service - see WHOIS NamePrivacy Service |
| Computing |
Network - A system of computers, databases, and other components connected by communications lines |
| Computing |
NIC - Network Information Center, such as InterNIC |
| Computing |
NIC Handle - Used by Network Solutions. A unique identifier, comprised of up to 10 alpha-numeric characters that is assigned to each contact record, domain name record, and network record in the Network Solutions database. |
| Computing |
nslookup - Name Server Lookup; A UNIX utility used to query Internet domain name servers. An nslookup is usually used to find the IP address corresponding to a hostname. An nslookup may also be used to find other types of information such as CNAME - the canonical name for an alias; MINFO - mailbox or mail list information; MX - mail exchanger information; NS - the name server for the named zone; and SOA the domain's start-of-authority information. |
| Computing |
On Hold (see Deactivation) |
| Computing |
One-Page Mini-Site - A single web page intended as a "place holder" for a domain name. The contact information displayed on this page may be edited by the user. |
| Computing |
Parking - A domain name registration that does not include domain name hosting or forwarding services. Users can park a domain name to reserve it for future use. |
| Computing |
POP3 (see Post Office Protocol, Version 3) |
| Computing |
Post Office Protocol, Version 3 (POP3) - A protocol that allows a user to retrieve e-mail from a mail server by way of an Internet connection. POP e-mail is most useful for users who lack a permanent network connection since it provides a virtual "post office" (the POP server) that will hold e-mail until it can be retrieved. POP3 does not specify a particular means of writing or sending mail; this function is handled by a mail transfer protocol such as SMTP. |
| Computing |
Primary Name Server - The first name server queried when attempting to resolve an Internet address or domain name. If the primary name server is unavailable, the domain name's secondary name server (if one is defined) will be queried. |
| Computing |
Protocol - A set of formal rules or conventions governing the transmission, treatment, and formatting of data in an electronic communications system. |
| Computing |
Qwho.com - Registrars for ".com," ".net," and ".org" TLDs are required by ICANN to allow public access to certain domain name registration information, including the name of the registrant, administrative and technical contacts, and name server information. Qwho.com is the Web site that provides this information for NameSecure. |
| Computing |
Refresh (see Reload) |
| Computing |
Registrant - The person or company that carries the ownership title for a given domain name. You can determine the registrant of a domain name by performing a WHOIS lookup. |
| Computing |
Registrar - A company that is able to register ".com," ".net," and ".org" domain names by directly accessing the Central Domain Name Database. NameSecure is a registrar. |
| Computing |
Registrar Transfer - To give a different registrar the responsibility for maintaining the ownership of a domain name. |
| Computing |
Registration Company - A company that is able to register domain names but must seek approval of the registration from an accredited registrar. |
| Computing |
Registry - The Central Domain Name Database. This database holds the registration information for all a domain names with ".com," ".net," and ".org" top levels. |
| Computing |
Reload - A command made through your web browser which forces your browser to load a web page from your ISP's server, rather than from your browser's cached memory. |
| Computing |
Resolve - To successfully map a domain name to its corresponding IP address by way of name servers. |
| Computing |
Resource Records - Databases which contain all data associated with their respective domain names and/or their respective zones. |
| Computing |
Root Server - A central computer on the Internet that stores information about all the registered domain names. Internet specifications currently limit the number of root servers to 13. These are located in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, and Japan. If a local name server can't resolve a particular domain name, it will query a root server. |
| Computing |
Secondary Name Server - The second name server referenced when attempting to resolve an Internet address. It is reserved for use as backup if resolution via the primary name server fails. |
| Computing |
Second-Level Domain Name - The part of a domain name preceding the top level. In "mydomain.com," "mydomain" is the second-level domain name. Within the ".com," ".net," and ".org" domain names, it is the second-level domain names that are registered. |
| Computing |
Secure Socket Layer - A protocol that provides encrypted communications on the Internet. It is used by the HTTPS access method and was designed by Netscape. |
| Computing |
Server - a computer used to transfer files via an Internet connection. |
| Computing |
Shared Registration System (SRS) - A system that permits multiple registrars to provide Internet domain name registration services of top-level domains. |
| Computing |
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol - A protocol used to transfer e-mail between computers. It is a server-to-server protocol. Client-to-server protocols such as IMAP and POP3 are used to access e-mail messages. |
| Computing |
SMTP (see Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) |
| Computing |
SOA (Start of Authority) Resource Record - A type of record in the domain name system that indicates that a particular name server contains authoritative data for a domain name. |
| Computing |
SRS (see Shared Registration System) |
| Computing |
SSL (see Secure Socket Layer) |
| Computing |
Sub-Domain - A partition within a domain name, usually a third level domain name. |
