A domain name registry, also called Network Information Centre (NIC), is part of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet which converts domain names to IP addresses. It is an organisation that manages the registration of Domain names within the top-level domains for which it is responsible, controls the policies of domain name allocation, and technically operates its top-level domain. On the Internet, the Domain Name System (DNS) stores and associates many types of information with domain names; most importantly, it serves as the phone book for the internet, translating human-friendly domain names and computer hostnames, e. ... The Domain Name System or DNS is a system that stores information about host names and domain names in a kind of distributed database on networks, such as the Internet. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A top-level domain (TLD) is the last part of an Internet domain name; that is, the letters which follow the final dot of any domain name. ...

Domain names are managed under a hierarchy headed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which manages the top of the DNS tree by administrating the data in the root nameservers. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, DNS root zone management, and other Internet protocol assignments. ... The AMS-IX mirror of the K root-server. ...

IANA also operates the .int registry for intergovernmental organisations, the .arpa zone for protocol administration purposes, and other critical zones such as root-servers.net. .int is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) used on the Internets Domain Name System. ... .arpa is an Internet top-level domain (TLD) used exclusively for Internet-infrastructure purposes. ...

IANA delegates all other domain name authority to other domain name registries such as VeriSign. VeriSign, Inc. ...

Country code top-level domains (ccTLD) are delegated by IANA to national registries such as DENIC in Germany. A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a top-level domain used and reserved for a country or a dependent territory. ... DENIC Verwaltungs- und Betriebsgesellschaft eG is the manager of the . ...

Operation

Some name registries are government departments (e.g., the registry for the Vatican www.nic.va ). Some are co-operatives of internet service providers (such as DENIC) or not-for profit companies (such as Nominet UK). Others operate as commercial organisations, such as the US registry (www.nic.us). Nominet UK is the . ...

The allocated and assigned domain names are made available by registries by use of the Whois system and via their Domain name servers. WHOIS is a TCP-based query/response protocol which is widely used for querying a database in order to determine the owner of a domain name, an IP address, or an autonomous system number on the Internet. ... The Domain Name System or DNS is a system that stores information about host names and domain names in a kind of distributed database on networks, such as the Internet. ...

Some registries sell the names directly (like SWITCH in Switzerland) and others rely solely on registrars to sell them. SWITCH is the manager of the . ... A domain name registrar is a company accredited, either by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), or by a national ccTLD authority or both, to register Internet domain names . ...

Policies

Allocation policies

Generally, domain name registries operate a first-come-first-served system of allocation but may reject the allocation of specific domains on the basis of political, religious, historical, legal or cultural reasons. The practice or policy which dictates that individuals seeking service shall have it rendered in an order identical to that of the request for said service. ...

For example, in the United States, between 1996 and 1998, InterNIC automatically rejected domain name applications based on a list of perceived obscenities. 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... InterNIC or Internet Network Information Center was the Internet governing body primarily responsible for domain name and IP address allocations until September 18, 1998 when this role was assumed by the ICANN body. ...

Registries may also control matters of interest to their local communities: for example, the German, Japanese and Polish registries have introduced internationalized domain names to allow use of local non-ASCII characters.

Dispute policies

Domains which are registered with ICANN generally have to use the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy (UDRP), however, DENIC requires people to use the German civil courts, and Nominet UK deals with Intellectual Property and other disputes through its own dispute resolution service. ICANN (pronounced I can) is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ... UDRP - Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy A document used by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for the purpose of creating guidelines for use when disputes arise regarding the registration of internet names (domain names). ... Nominet UK is the . ... For the 2006 film, see Intellectual Property (film). ...

Cost of registration

The cost of domain registration is set by each individual registry.

Second-level domains

Domain name registries may also impose a system of second-level domains on users. DENIC, the registry for Germany (.de), does not impose second level domains. AFNIC, the registry for France (.fr), has some second level domains, but not all registrants have to use them, and Nominet UK, the registry for the United Kingdom (.uk), requires all names to have a second level domain. In the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, a second-level domain is a domain that is directly below a top-level domain (TLD). ...

Registrants of second-level domains sometimes act as a registry by offering sub-registrations to their registration. For example, registrations to .fami.ly are offered by the registrant of fami.ly and not by GPTC, the registry for Libya (.ly). A domain hack is an unconventional domain name that combines domain labels, especially the top-level domain (TLD), to spell out the full name or title of the domain, making a kind of pun. ...

See also

• List of Internet top-level domains

The following is a list of currently existing Internet Top-level domains (TLDs). ...

External links

• A list of links to domain name registration services around the world