Domain name registry 158284 223022008 2008-07-02T06:02:27Z Versageek 146418 Reverted edits by [[Special:Contributions/59.95.23.182|59.95.23.182]] ([[User talk:59.95.23.182|talk]]) to last version by Wrs1864 {{Unreferenced|date=October 2007}} 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 address]]es. It is an [[organisation]] that manages the registration of Domain names within the [[top-level domain]]s for which it is responsible, controls the policies of domain name allocation, and technically operates its top-level domain. It is potentially distinct from a [[domain name registrar]]. 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 nameserver]]s. 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]]. IANA delegates all other domain name authority to other domain name registries such as [[VeriSign]]. [[Country code top-level domains]] (ccTLD) are delegated by IANA to national registries such as [[DENIC]] in [[Germany]], or [[Nominet]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. == Operation == Some name registries are government departments (e.g., the registry for Sri Lanka [http://www.nic.lk www.nic.lk ]). Some are co-operatives of internet service providers (such as DENIC) or not-for profit companies (such as [[Nominet UK]]). Others operate as commercial organizations, such as the US registry ([http://www.nic.us www.nic.us]). The allocated and assigned domain names are made available by registries by use of the [[WHOIS]] system and via their [[Domain name server]]s. Some registries sell the names directly (like [[SWITCH Information Technology Services| SWITCH]] in [[Switzerland]]) and others rely on separate entities to sell them. For example, names in the [[.com]] TLD are in some sense sold "wholesale" at a regulated price by [[VeriSign]], and individual [[domain name registrar]] sell names "retail" to businesses and consumers. == 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. For example, in the United States, between [[1996]] and [[1998]], [[InterNIC]] automatically rejected domain name applications based on a list of perceived obscenities. 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]] registrars, generally have to use the Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy ([[UDRP]]), however, Germany's [[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. == 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 domain]]s 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. Registrants of second-level domains sometimes act as a registry by offering sub-registrations to their registration. For example, registrations to <tt>.fami.ly<tt> are offered by the registrant of <tt>[[Domain hack|fami.ly]]</tt> and not by GPTC, the registry for [[Libya]] (.ly). == See also == *[[List of Internet top-level domains]] == External links == [[Category:Internet governance]] [[Category:Domain name system]] [[ca:Centre d'informació sobre la xarxa]] [[de:Domain-Registrierung]] [[es:Registro de dominios]] [[fr:Registre (Noms de domaine)]] [[pt:Domain name registry]]