Definitions for teachers by teachers
Domain Name
Domain NameAn Internet address in alphabetic form. Domain names must have at least 2 parts: the part on the left which names the organization, and the part on the right which identifies the highest subdomain, such as the country or the type of organization. Directory levels can be indicated in other parts.
Every domain name has a suffix that indicates which top-level (TLD) domain it belongs to. There are only a limited number of such domains. For example:
Addresses of sites outside the US end with a two letter country code; some common country codes include:gov - Government agencies
edu - Educational institutions
org - Organizations (nonprofit)
mil - Military
com - commercial business
net - Network organizations
A domain name identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages. In the URL http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/Iles/explorer/index.html, the domain name is springfield.k12.il.us. The symbolic name of a site is determined by a naming standard known as the Domain Name System or DNS. Each field in a symbolic address corresponds to a single domain. The first field is a host name, which identifies a single computer. The last field is a top level domain. In between are things like department names, organization names, and so on in order of increasing generality. For example, www.springfield.k12.il.us is the address for the main server of the Springfield school district. Our host is identified by ".springfield", ".k12" identifies us as a unit school district, ".il" shows we are in the state of Illinois, and our address ends with ".us" because we are in the United States.ca - Canada
th - Thailand
au - Australia
se - Sweden
jp - Japan
uk - United Kingdom
de - Germany
The address www.springfield.k12.il.us is actually the name of the IP address 209.7.240.5. A sequence like 209.7.240.5 is an IP address, while the corresponding name springfield.k12.il.us is the DNS name for the computer with that IP address. Because the Internet is based on IP addresses, not domain names, every Web server requires a Domain Name System (DNS) server to translate domain names into IP addresses.
What this means to you: Whenever you see an internet or email address that contains springfield.k12.il.us, you'll know it originates at District 186. When emailing someone within our system you can omit the domain name in the address and simply type the user name (the part before the @). Make sure that your computer has both the correct domain name and IP addresses listed in MacTCP/IP. To check this, drag down the apple menu to control panels and then to TCP/IP.
For more information see Internet Addresses: The Naming System.
by Margie Adkins
DOMAIN NAME
The unique name that identifies an Internet site. Domain Names always have 2 or more parts, separated by dots. The part on the left is the most specific, and the part on the right is the mostgeneral. A given machine may have more than one Domain Name but a given Domain Name points to only one machine. For example, the domain names:
leyden.com
mail.leyden.com
support.leyden.comcan all refer to the same machine, but each domain name can refer to no more than one machine.
Usually, all of the machines on a given Network will have the same thing as the right-hand portion of their Domain Names (leyden.com in the examples above). It is also possible for a Domain Name to exist but not be connected to an actual machine. This is often done so that a group or business can have an Internet e-mail address without having to establish a real Internet site. In these cases, some real Internet machine must handle the mail on behalf of the listed Domain Name.
by Brian Weinert
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Last updated: 31 July 2000