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Glossary

Domains, DNS & Hosting

Domains, DNS, and hosting are the systems that connect a human-readable web address to the infrastructure that stores, secures, and delivers a website.

Terms

A & AAAA Record A and AAAA records connect a hostname directly to an IPv4 or IPv6 address. CNAME Record A CNAME record maps one hostname to another hostname so the first can act as an alias for the second. DNS Propagation DNS propagation describes the period during which cached DNS answers expire and different resolvers begin returning newly updated DNS information. DNS Zone A DNS zone is the administratively managed collection of DNS records for a domain or other portion of the DNS namespace. DNSSEC DNSSEC adds cryptographic authentication to DNS so resolvers can verify that DNS responses are authentic and have not been altered. Domain Name A domain name is a human-readable internet name used to identify resources such as websites, email services, and applications. Domain Name System (DNS) The Domain Name System is the distributed naming system that connects domain names with internet resources such as servers, email systems, and other services. Domain Registrant A domain registrant is the individual or organization that registers and holds the rights associated with a domain-name registration. Domain Registrar A domain registrar is a provider through which domain registrations are purchased, renewed, transferred, and administratively managed. Domain Registry A domain registry is the organization responsible for maintaining the authoritative registration database and infrastructure for a top-level domain. Domain Transfer A domain transfer moves management of a domain registration from one registrar to another without inherently moving the website, DNS, email, or hosting. Domains, DNS & Hosting Domains, DNS, and hosting are the systems that connect a human-readable web address to the infrastructure responsible for locating, securing, and serving a website. HTTPS HTTPS is HTTP delivered over an encrypted TLS connection to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of communication between a client and web server. MX Record An MX record identifies the mail servers responsible for receiving email for a domain. Nameserver A nameserver is a DNS server that answers queries about a domain, with authoritative nameservers holding the definitive DNS records for that domain. Origin Server An origin server is the upstream server or application that stores or generates the original website response before intermediary systems such as a CDN deliver it. Subdomain A subdomain is a domain name created beneath another domain and can be used to route different services or parts of a website independently. Time to Live (TTL) DNS Time to Live is the value that tells resolvers how long a DNS answer may be cached before it should be checked again. TLS Certificate A TLS certificate is a digital certificate used to authenticate a website's domain and establish trusted encrypted communication over TLS. Top-Level Domain (TLD) A top-level domain is the final and highest-level portion of a domain name, such as `.com`, `.org`, or `.ca`. TXT Record A TXT record stores text-based information in DNS and is commonly used for verification, email authentication, and service configuration. Web Hosting Web hosting is the infrastructure or service used to store, generate, and deliver a website over the internet. Web Server A web server is the hardware or software responsible for receiving web requests and returning website resources or generated responses.