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After typing something on your browser you can see some results. If you want to open one of them it moves you to a single page. This single page is a part of the website and every website has an individual domain name. So today I am going to talk about these Different Kinds of Domains.

What is an IP( Internet Protocol) address?

To know the domain it is important to know about the IP address. So I am talking about IP address first.

Every computer has an IP address that consists of some numbers (For example, 172.16.254.1). Usually, these numbers are separated into four parts by three dots. The separated parts by dot consist of a byte. We know every byte is equivalent to 8 bits. So an IP address consists of 32 bits and it is capable to provide roughly 4 billion unique numbers. This IP address is unique for all computers like a phone number and it’s a language to communicate with each other over a network.

32 Bits IP Address

Fig: 32 Bits IP Address

IP addresses permit any number of internet-connected computers to be recognized from different computers. It’s very much like calling somebody on the phone. Everybody in the universe has an exceptional phone number and you need to dial somebody’s precise number to contact them.

What is a domain name?

So, what is actually a domain name? Let’s start with the phone analogy. Probably you have saved a long list of the contacts on your phone and every contact has a unique phone number. At the point when you need to call somebody, you typically click on the contact’s name instead of typing in the full phone number.

IP_Address-to-Domain_ Name

Fig: Relation between IP Address & Domain Name

A domain name is just like a contact name on your phone and, an IP address is like a phone number. Rather than typing a complicated set of numbers, you type a domain name in your browser. This domain name is human friendly and much easier to remember rather than the complicated IP address. All domain name is connected to a unique IP address. So we can say a domain is an address where Internet users can access your website. For example tanzimulhaque.com, threephaseacademy.com, chamokbiswas.com.

Different parts of a domain

There are three different parts of a domain name. These different parts assign different meanings to the domain.

1. Domain Name: A domain name is a part where a website user can give his/her chosen name and it should be unique for the same top-level domain. For example “tanzimulhaque” is the domain name in tanzimilhaque.com.

2. Top-level Domain: This is the suffix at the end of the domain name. Examples includes .com, .org, .gov etc.

3. Subdomain: This is a prefix of a domain name that further classifies a domain. For example subdomain.tanzimulhaque.com.

Who manages the Domain Name System (DNS)?

ICANN

Fig: ICANN

Already we are known about the domain name. But now the question is how do all internet users exist in one global internet. We know every domain name has a particular IP address. It does not generate automatically. So to manage the Domain Name System (DNS) there is a non-profit organization namely Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). They coordinate all the unique IP address to find all the domain in one global internet. Only this organization specify what domain name and domain name extensions are available. They also maintain a massive database of every location that domain names point to.

Different Kinds of Domains

It is important to know the types of the domain before selecting your domain. There are three types of domains are available.

1. Top Level Domains

Each website’s URL can be broken down into different parts. Top-Level Domains (TLD), sometimes called domain name extensions, are the part that comes right after your primary domain name (for instance, the .com in www.tamzimulhaque.com). Top-Level Domains are at the top of the internet hierarchy of the domain names. There are more than a large number of various TLDs accessible. Lately, ICANN opened up new TLD enlistment and endorsement, so organizations and people could pitch and enlist unique TLDs. This sent the quantity of TLD accessible taking off.

Now, I will talk about the most popular TLD. In 1985, The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) released six top-level domain names. These top-level domains (TLD) became known as domain name extensions and represent the highest level in the Domain Name System hierarchy. They include:

(a) .com: It starts from “Commercial”. Generally, it is used for commercial websites but now it is also used for a personal or any other website.

(b) .net: This domain name originates from “Network“. It is used for Network Technology Website.

(c) .edu: It starts from “Education”. Generally, for the educational website, it is used.

(d) .org: It originates from “Organization”. It is utilized for non-profit organizations.

(e) .mil: It comes from “Military”. In 1985 it is used for United States Army Website.

(f) .gov: It is come from “Government”. For government websites, this domain name is used.

there are three types of top-level domains. They are:

(i) Country code top-level domains (ccTLD)

This domain is published to differentiate websites in different countries. This domain is made up of two letters and sits next to the Top-Level Domain Name. As an example, we can say .gov.bd, .gov.uk. Here, .gov is the TLD and .bd, .uk are the ccTLD. Except for ccTLD, you can buy any domain from any hosting company but if you want ccTLD you have to buy it from a specific institution.

(ii) Generic Top Level Domain (gTLD)

The best known generic TLD’s include .com, .net, .biz, .org and .info – these can be registered by anyone, anywhere in the world. However, some of the new gTLD’s more recently released have various restrictions.

(iii) Internationalized country code top-level domains (IDN ccTLD)

For all other domains, we usually use the Latin character set. However, in this domain people of any country can use their own alphabet. As an example, we can say “তানজিমুলহক.বাংলা” is an Internationalized country code top-level domain.

2. Second-Level Domains

Now, I’ve covered the TLD part of your site’s domain name. Nonetheless, what might be said about the remainder of the URL? That’s where Second-Level Domains (SLDs) come into play.

Let’s look back at my URL as an example: www.tanzimulhaque.com. As we’ve seen, .com is the TLD. The SLD is what immediately precedes it, which in this case is “tanzimulhaque”. It is directly below a TLD in the DNS hierarchy.

3. Third Level Domains

It is directly below a second level in the DNS hierarchy. The difference between the second and third levels can be a little confusing. For example, “tanzimulhaque” of tanzimulhaque.com is considered a second-level domain, but “tanzimulhaque” of tanzimulhaque.com.bd would be classed as a third level.

4. Premium Domains

In some cases when you’re searching for a domain name, you’ll see that the one you need is as of now taken. That means it’s a premium domain that someone else owns. For example, tanzimulhaque.com is a premium domain for you because already I have bought it.