Domain Names and ICANN


Domain Names

URLs (web addresses) are comprised of many components, all of which are important in getting you where you need to and want to go. One of these components is the domain name. Domain names are the registered “names” of the websites. When a company decides that its time to register and build a website, they will purchase what is called a domain name. This name is unique and there can only be one in the world because the Internet is a worldwide application, and having two websites with the same name will disrupt current systems that are used to route you to the desired website.

Domain Names Image

This image shows some of the more common top-level domain names that you can have when creating a website!

Some common examples of domain names can include:

  • www.google.com
  • www.youtube.com
  • www.bing.com
  • www.whitehouse.gov
  • www.cdc.gov
  • www.icann.org

As mentioned before, URLs contain multiple vital pieces of information that are used to direct the user to the website. In the examples above you can see all the components related to domain names. The “www” is the sub domain portion of the URL and this tells the computer that the site is operating on the world wide web. The “google” portion of the URL is the actual domain name and is unique across the globe. Finally, the “.com” portion of the URL is the top-level domain, which are assigned by ICANN. Domain names are tied to IP addresses, which I cover in “IP Addresses, Packets, and Routing”. These addresses are unique and tell computers around the world where to go to on the Internet in order to reach the website that you are looking for. Another topic that I will discuss in a different is DNS, found in DNS . DNS or Domain Name System is what makes the application of domain names work! DNS translated the plaintext domain names into the IP addresses of the website, which is what your computer needs to find out where to go on the Internet!

ICANN

ICANN, or the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is the main organization responsible for managing and coordinating the Internet’s DNS. ICANN is very important to how the Internet works because they are responsible for registering domain names into the global DNS. ICANN was founded in 1998 and currently has their headquarters in Los Angeles, California, United States. The current CEO and president of ICANN is Göran Marby. One recent historical even surrounding ICANN is that, on March 10, 2016, both ICANN and IANA could be free entities from the government. Therefore, the Department of Commerce (DOC) no longer oversees them.

ICANN Logo

This image is the current ICANN logo.

Some examples of what ICANN does include:

  • Managing the global DNS
  • Policy development for new top-level domains
  • Managing the Internet Protocol address spaces for IPv4 and IPv6
  • Assigning address blocks

ICANN is an essential organization for the Internet and is very important in terms of how the Internet works. Without them, the functionality of domain names would be unstable, and the global Internet would not work as efficiently as it does. ICANN can be compared to the engine room of the Internet. The men and women who work there are keeping the ship afloat year after year. All in all, ICANN is the unsung hero of the Internet, as the whole world gets to enjoy what they worked so hard to put out, yet they get little recognition globally from the common Internet user.

Sources

Information Sources

Domain Names: The Internet- IP Addresses and DNS Part 3
Domain Names:https://medium.com/dotme-blog/19-faq-about-domain-names-answered-9434bc703830
ICANN: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN

Image Sources

ICANN Logo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN#/media/File:Icann_logo.svg
Domain Names:https://medium.com/dotme-blog/19-faq-about-domain-names-answered-9434bc703830