DNS on Windows 2000, Second Edition

Choosing a Domain Name

Choosing a domain name is more involved than it may sound, because it entails both choosing a name and finding out who runs the parent zone. In other words, you need to find out where you fit in the Internet domain namespace, then find out who runs that particular corner of the namespace.

The first step in picking a domain name is finding where in the existing domain namespace you belong. It’s easiest to start at the top and work your way down: decide which top-level domain you belong in, then which of that top-level domain’s subdomains you fit into.

Note that in order to find out what the Internet domain namespace looks like (beyond what we’ve already told you), you’ll need access to the Internet. You don’t need access to a host that already has name service configured, but it would help a little. If you don’t have access to a host with DNS configured, you’ll have to “borrow” name service from other name servers (as in our previous ftp.microsoft.com example) to get you going.

On Registrars and Registries

Before we go any further, we need to define a few terms: registry, registrar,and registration. These terms aren’t defined anywhere in the DNS specs. Instead, they apply to the way the Internet namespace is managed today.

A registry is an organization responsible for maintaining a top-level domain’s (well, zone’s, really) data files, which contain the delegation to each subdomain of that top-level domain. Under the current structure of the Internet, a given ...