How To Register a Domain Name

The IT-100® is capable of providing multiple web related services for you. These services include acting as a web server, a mail server and an FTP server. Let's say for example, you want to host a website for business or personal use. You can create a website using the built-in Web Builder tool (see the Web Builder pages in the User Manual under Domains for details) and publish it to the Internet so everyone can visit your site. You can also enable the IT-100 to act as a mail server so that you can send and receive emails without relying on an ISP. The same goes for hosting FTP so people can upload and download files to and from the IT-100.

However, before you can do any of that, you must have a registered domain name. A domain name is a name that uniquely identifies your home or business server on the Internet. A domain name looks like www.google.com or www.ebay.com  All domain names must be registered with an ICANN affiliated registrar. You can't just make up a name and expect it to work. It must be leased from a registrar. Please keep in mind that this domain name has nothing to do with using a Windows NT Domain on the device for File Sharing. These are two, completely separate processes.

ICANN stands for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and is the international non-profit organization responsible for controlling the assignment of IP addresses and domain names.  You can learn more about ICANN by following this Link.

Domain names aren't free. You have to pay a fee to lease a domain name. Usually, you can choose to lease a name for a period of one or two years, although you can select any period of time depending on how much you want to pay at once. You must also choose a domain name that is not being used by anyone else. It's easy to find out if a domain name is currently being used or not. You can do a search from any of a number of registrars.

Some common domain name registrars are:

http://www.godaddy.com

http://www.register.com

http://www.networksolutions.com

There are many others you can use as well. To find a complete list, go to:

http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html

Once you go to a domain name registrar, you can type in the domain name you want to use and see if it is already being used. Let's say you want to use the name www.domain.com. You do your search and find that domain.com is currently being used. You can work around this by using different extensions with the desired domain name such as domain.net or domain.biz. Other usable extensions include .org, .us, .info, .tv, and .cc. Chances are that unless the domain name you want to use is incredibly popular, your desired domain name will be available using another extension besides .com.

You lease a domain name in pretty much the same way as you buy something at amazon.com. There is a wizard-like process that guides you step-by-step through the process. Registrars also offer service packages such as website creation, hosting, and DNS but since you are using the IT-100 for all those, you won't need to incur additional costs. Simply lease the domain name without any additional features. The process should be pretty straight-forward, but if you get lost, each registrar provides a toll-free number to call so you can speak to one of their representatives.

You can pay either by postal mail or online with a credit card. Once the name is registered to you, it's yours for however long you leased the name. Now you are ready to use your domain name so you can host web, mail, and FTP services on your IT-100. Remember to renew the lease when the expiration date is near if you want to continue using it.