Beginner's Hosting Guide
- What is a domain name?
- What is an IP address?
- What are the components of a domain name?
- How long can a domain name be and what are the restrictions?
- What is a DNS?
- What is a registry?
- What is a URL?
- What if the name I want to use is already taken?
- How long should the registration process take?
- Once a domain is registered, who "owns" the domain name?
- What is Disk Space?
- What is Monthly Bandwidth?
- What is a POP mailbox?
- What is Email Forwarding?
- What is Email Aliasing?
- What is an Auto Responder?
- What are Graphical Usage Statistics?
- What is a Web based control panel?
- What is a Web based File Manager?
- What is a Counter wizard?
- What is a Feedback form wizard?
- What is a Personal CGI directory?
- What is an FTP server?
- What is a Hit Counter?
What is a domain name?
A domain name is used to identify the location of
a website on the Internet. Here are some domain
names you might be already familiar with:
Cyberpathway.com - Cyberpathway Web Design
microsoft.com - Microsoft
ucla.edu - University of California Los Angeles
(top)
What is an IP address?
Every computer on the Internet has a numeric address
called IP-Address that is used to identify the location of
the computer. An example of an IP address is 204.234.212.1.
This kind of addressing system is cumbersome and hard to
remember for humans. Having a domain name will eliminate
the need to remember an IP address.
(top)
What are the components of a domain name?
A domain name consists of two or more words separated
by a period. The last word (the far right) is called
a "top-level domain". Here are some common top-level
domains and their use:
.COM
Used for commercial entities. It is the most popular
top-level domain. Anyone can register a .com domain.
.NET
Originally used for networking organizations such as Internet
Service Providers and backbone providers. Today, anyone can
register a .net domain.
.ORG
Designed for miscellaneous organizations, including
non-profit groups. Today, anyone can register a .org domain.
.EDU
Four-year, accredited colleges and universities.
Country Codes
Other top-level domains include those for countries (.CA
for Canada, .UK for the United Kingdom, .HK for Hong
Kong, etc.), which are based on the International
Country Codes
Other top-level domains include those for countries (.CA
for Canada, .UK for the United Kingdom, .HK for Hong
Kong, etc.), which are based on the International
Standards Organization's 3166 standard for country
abbreviations.
To the left of the top-level domain is what is called the
"second-level domain." In cyberpathway.com, "cyberpathway" represents
a second-level domain within the top-level domain of .com.
It is also possible to have a domain name in the form of
something.cyberpathway.com. In this case the "something" is
called a "host" name or a "sub-domain". It is not
necessary to register a host or sub-domain with a
registry before being able to use it.
(top)
How long can a domain name be and what are the restrictions?
A domain can have a maximum of 26 characters
including the extensions (.com, .net, etc).
A domain name can contain numbers, letters or a dashes. A
domain can not start or end with a dash.
(top)
What is a DNS?
DNS stands for "Domain Name Server". It translates
domain names into IP addresses that computers understand.
For example, if someone wants to access Cyberpathway's website
(www.cyberpathway.com), the DNS will translate the domain into
the IP address 204.174.223.32, which will allow the
computer to locate Cyberpathway's web server.
(top)
What is a registry?
Organizations similar to InterNIC are called Registries. They
register domain names into central computers which are accessed
by individual DNS servers. InterNIC is responsible for the
domains .com, .net, .org, .edu and .gov. Other common
registries include Nominet for .uk, and CaNet for .ca. Some
registries like InterNIC charge an annual fee (which doesn't
benefit EasyHost). InterNIC currently charges $70 for 2 years.
(top)
What is a URL?
It stands for Univesal Resource Locator. Some people refer to
it as a web address (although URL is not limited to the web).
An example of a URL is http://www.cyberpathway.com. Please note that
a URL is a unique identifier. No two websites can have the same
URL. This is the reason why you should register your domain name
before someone else does.
(top)
What if the name I want to use is already taken?
You can choose an alternative domain name, or if you feel that you
a right to that domain name you could follow InterNIC's domain dispute
policy and try to regain
your domain name.
(top)
How long does it take to register a domain name?
If the information provided is correct, it should take less
than 24 hrs. Please check the whois database at
http://www.easyhost.com to see whether your domain name is registered or not.
(top)
Once a domain is registered, who "owns" the domain name?
The domain name is owned by the organization that is on the
whois database. Easyhost registers domain names in such a
way to make it easy for customers to move domain names to their
favourite web hosting or ISP company in the future.
(top)
Disk Space
Disk space is a measure of hard drive storage, normally measured in megabytes (MB).
(top)
Monthly Bandwidth (Traffic allowance)
Bandwidth is a measure of network resources, normally measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB).
(top)
POP mailbox
The POP mailbox feature is a means to store email messages so that they can be retrieved by the owner from anywhere on the internet.
(top)
Email Forwarding
The email forwarding feature allows you to automatically forward mail from one POP mailbox to any internet email address.
(top)
Email Aliasing
The email aliasing feature allows you to have multiple addresses for one POP mailbox.
For example, you could have sales@abc.com and info@abc.com and help@abc.com as aliases to a single POP mailbox.
(top)
Auto Responder
The auto responder feature allows you to automatically send a text file reply when you receive an email.
This is useful if you want to let people know that you are on vacation and will not be able to immediately reply to their email.
(top)
Graphical Usage Statistics
The graphical usage statistics feature creates graphs that depict the amount of traffic to your site, which documents are being accessed, and who is accessing them.
(top)
Web based control panel
The web based control panel is a interface you can use to administer your account online. You can configure email (POP) accounts and aliases, change your account password, check the disk space usage, order additional services or view your statistics.
(top)
Web based File Manager
SiteMgr can perform many of the file operations needed to manage a web site. You can use it to navigate the directories of your web site, viewing a list of files in each. You can also copy, create, delete, edit, move and upload files, as well as create and delete subdirectories. Last but not least you can also change permissions and run a script that tries to fix the most common cgi errors. SiteMgr can be accessed as http://www.yourdomain.com/cgi-bin/sitemgr.cgi
(top)
Counter wizard
Allows you to configure a counter easily. Once you choose the desired look of the counter, the program will give you an HTML code that you can copy and paste to your web page.
(top)
Feedback form wizard
Allows you to add/delete entries into your mail.list file.
(top)
Personal CGI directory
The personal cgi directory feature allows you to run any cgi script from a directory located inside your home directory, provided the script conforms to the terms and conditions of usage agreement.
Also included is our library of free CGI Scripts.
(top)
FTP server
The FTP server feature allows you to serve files using the File Transfer Protocol.
(top)
Hit Counter
The hit counter feature is a graphic that displays the number of times that page has been accessed.
(top)
