Domain Name Servers: The Basics

Technically, domain names aren’t necessary to access a website.  This is because with or without them, all websites can be accessed by their corresponding IP address.  What is an IP address?  It is a 32-bit numerical identifier that indicates what machine a website is on.  The only problem is that for a human these numbers, (which come in a series of 4 octets), can be extremely hard to remember.  This is why domain names were created.  With a domain name a person can access a website through a word or phrase, which offers much more convenience than decimated octets. 

In order for domain names to work, they must use domain name servers, (also known as DNS).  These are special computers that store data pertaining to domain names and the IP addresses they point to.   It does this through a process known as reverse mapping.  What happens is after a domain name is entered, the domain name server will look up its corresponding IP address in a directory service.  It will also correspond with other domainname services to see if they have ‘knowledge’ of the IP address.  This process is known as a distributed database, since no ‘official’ entity is responsible for updating information on other domain name servers.

How can a computer be turned into a domain name server?  It has to run DNS software.  The most common DNS software is BIND, (which stands for Berkeley Internet Name Domain).  This, (along with other types of DNS software), works in a hierarchal fashion.  The beginning of the hierarchy contains the character ‘’.  It is called the system’s root.  Underneath the root there are the domain extension such as .com, .org, .net or .biz. 

A domain name server must also have client computers to help conduct its operation.  These client computers are called nameservers and resolvers.  Nameservers are responsible for locating a domain name’s IP address.  The resolvers, on the other hand, stores a list of all other nameservers on the Internet.  This list is used to help contact these nameservers should a domain name’s IP address not be stored in the initial domain name server.

Should a web hosting company bother in investing in a domain name server?  It depends on how large their operation is.  Smaller-scale web hosting companies probably won’t get much from such an investment.  However, if a company wants to attain the type of status that sites like webhostinghub.com have attained, it may want to consider spending the money.  Companies can get domain name servers from enterprises that sell regular servers. 

In conclusion, the domain name server can be considered the heart of domain name functioning.  Without them there would be no way a domain name would be associated with an IP address, which is what is really responsible for identifying computers on a network.  This does not mean it’s essential for a web hosting company to invest in one, especially since there are so many cheap domain name services they could use instead.  Yet, if they do get a domain name server, they would have the ability to sell web hosting as well as domain names to their customers.

Domain Name Tasting

A good domain name not only makes people more likely to visit a website, but it can also increase search engine rankings.  This is because search engine bots index websites based on keywords found both in its content and domain name.  Yet, how does a webmaster know if their domain name is going to be profitable?  Usually most don’t until they put it into practice.  Hence, there is the practice of domain name tasting.  What is domain name tasting?  Domain name tasting is the process of registering a domain name and seeing how much traffic it brings to a website during whatever grace period the domain name registrar offers, (which is normally five days).  If the domain name brings in a lot of visitors, the webmaster will keep it.  Otherwise, they will cancel their registration and get a refund.

Does this sound interesting to you?  Well, before you decide to do domain nametasting for your site, first consider the ethics of the practice.  Domain name companies lose millions of dollars every year due to domain name tasting.  While some may not feel sympathy for them, if domain name tasting continues without any legal restrictions, DNS enterprises may strike back by making their prices higher.  Such a consequence would also hurt customers who intended on buying the domain name outright.

Another ethical dilemma involved with domain name tasting is the issue of good domain names not being eligible for more serious customers.  Some may feel that in a system of free capitalistic enterprise, domain name testers have every right to access however many domain names they can.  Yet, if they aren’t really going to buy them, why shouldn’t these domain names be available to individuals who may need them more?  Many would argue it is better to sell a domain name to a company that is serious about using it as their brand than selling it to a person thinking they can use it to get quick traffic.

It is also important to keep in mind that a good domain name is not a sole indicator of whether or not a site is going to be successful.  Domain name tasters are fooling themselves if they think their practice of domain tasting is what has brought about their success with website traffic.  Granted, an expired domain name might have a little bit of traffic associated with it, but to get one that is of value, a person would have to pay hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars.  Many domain name tasters wouldn’t have the funds for such a domain name, so they may instead deal with cheaper ones.  And most of these cheaper ones probably do not have their own traffic stream.

Indeed, the type of website that gets a lot of traffic is one that has: a decent domain name, keyword-enriched content and lots of inbound links.  Even if one doesn’t see anything ethically wrong with domain name tasting, doing it may not accurately reflect whether or not a domain name is valid.  In fact, if a person does domain name tasting and their website did not have the other elements that make for proper traffic-building, they could potentially be throwing away a domain name that could be a gold mine in the future.

Domain Names 101

Without a domain name, websites are specified by an IP address.  What is an IP address?  It is an identifier that is used by computers or humans to determine the location of a server or website.  However, for humans, an IP address, (which is expressed in a numerical format), can be difficult to remember.  This is why domain names were invented.  With a domain name, a human can locate a website through more user-friendly words or phrases.  And although numbers can be a part of a domain name, they usually do not make up all of it, like what is seen with an IP address.

In terms of format, domain names have several parts.  The first part is known as the URL, (which stands for Uniform Resource Locator).  The URL tells the browser what the domain name is going to point to.  This will usually be ‘http’, which means the browser can expect to locate a hypertext document.  In layman’s terms this means webpage.  In the rare cases the URL is not ‘http’ it may be ‘ftp’, which means file transfer protocol.  A webmaster would opt to use ftp if they would like visitors to download files from their server.

The second part of the domain name will be “www,” which stands for “World Wide Web.”  This phrase lets computers and humans know the site the domain name is pointing to is indeed from the Internet.  It is followed by the actual domain name, which can be a combination of letters, numbers or phrases.  A good domain name will be short, memorable and most importantly, search-engine friendly.  In fact, good webmasters tend to concentrate more on a domain name’s effectiveness with SEO, (or Search Engine Optimization), than they do its creativity.  To do this they make sure to choose a domain name that has a widely searched keyword. 

The final portion of the domain name has what is known as an extension.  This lets a person know a little bit more about a website’s origins.  For example, take .com, the most common domain name extension.  It stands for ‘commercial’, and was originally intended for organizations in that vein.  However, now the extension is used by virtually anyone looking to create a website.  And this is for good reason, since most web surfers will think about the .com before they would think about .org, .biz or .net.  Yet, don’t think the other extensions can’t become memorable either.  Consider Wikipedia.org which is a wildly popular website despite its .org extension.

Domain name extensions can also specify things on a geographical level.  An example are country-based extensions such as .fr, (which stands for France), or .jp, (which stands for Japan).  They can also be state-based, such as .ca, (which stands for California).  Both can serve as excellent tools for localized Internet marketing.

To get a domain name, a person can either: 1) get one from their web hosting company, provided they offer that service or 2) get one from a separate domain name company.  Price-wise things will vary with both options, though typically the cost will range from $6.50 to $35.