Understanding Domain Name Services

The 50,000-Foot View

Domain Name Services (DNS) are a fundamental Internet tool. Unfortunately, the terms used to discuss them are often confusing and poorly explained. This document provides an overview of how domain names and DNS work, the terms involved, and the parties involved in a new registration, transfer, or update.

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Domain name services (DNS) are often confusing because there are so many terms and parties involved for what sounds like such a simple concept – registering domain names.

There are actually five or more parties involved in a domain’s life cycle:

1. The TLD operator,
2. The registrar,
3. One or more DNS providers,
4. One or more hosting and e-mail providers, and
5. The domain’s owner.

Domain names are a critical asset to their owners, and to prevent their theft or abuse, specific mechanisms have been established when changes need to be made. Unfortunately, it is also these mechanisms that usually confuse domain owners.

To make matters worse, the parties involved are theoretically supposed to “cooperate” to service the customer’s stated intentions. However, in some cases one party may be performing multiple roles, and this may lead to conflicts of interest. For example, if the customer wants to change to a different Web hosting provider, and that hosting provider is also the customer’s registrar, the hosting provider who is losing revenue must cooperate in the act of giving business away!

Because of this, and because domain registration is a big business, some registrars have evolved tactics to retain customers as long as possible. Scare tactics about the new providers, “domain security controls,” “transfer waiting periods for your safety” and other techniques are all common tricks of the trade, and only add to a customer’s confusion.

The TLD

Are we into acronyms already? TLD stands for “top level domain” which is techno-speak for “.com”, “.org”, “.net”, “.info”, etc. It’s the tail end or suffix of a domain name. Each suffix has its own registry, and each registry is run by a TLD operator. Some operators are companies (.com is administered by Verisign under a government contract) while others are countries themselves (.cn is run by China).

Each TLD operator maintains a database of all of the domains in that TLD, along with some configuration information that communicates the customer’s wishes about how that domain is to be used. Customers do not need to know much about TLD operators -- they exist, but since customers always communicate through registrars, for all intents and purposes it is the registrar that matters to the customer.

The Key Providers

There are three roles or providers that a customer must interact with. Since a provider may provide more than one role, this means the customer must interact with one, two, or three parties to configure their domain. Fig. 1 illustrates the three parties involved, with a few examples of each.

Note that the Registrar’s database contains information that identifies the DNS provider. The DNS provider’s database contains information that identifies the hosting provider. Each provider “points to” the next one down in the chain.

The Workflow

It may help to look at this from another angle. Fig. 2 illustrates a typical workflow when a user visits a Web site. The diagram is somewhat generalized, but it is a good model of what goes on.

When a user requests a page, the browser first contacts the registrar to find the domain’s DNS provider. It then contacts the DNS provider to find the hosting provider for the address requested. Finally, it contacts the hosting provider to obtain the actual site. Each provider must return accurate information for the process to complete successfully.

Domain Registrations

Domain registration is usually straightforward today. Choose a provider, pay the registration fee, and generally within 48 hours the domain will be ready for use. Choosing a provider is usually a decision made based on price or features provided. Domain registrations are very low-margin work, and it has become common to include them in the prices of other services, so that may be worth the customer’s consideration. Otherwise, $10/year is generally a good target, although cheaper options are available.

Additional features to look for are free DNS management (which eliminates the need to obtain this from another provider) and integration services (such as all-in-one management panels). Other services, such as domain parking, are usually just thinly veiled attempts to generate ad revenue from the customer’s domain, and may be disregarded.

Domain Transfers

Although some providers have slightly different processes, the domain transfer process usually proceeds as follows:

1. The customer, or a third-party (consultant) whom the customer asks to make the transfer, logs into the customer’s domain management account at the current registrar.
2. The domain must be enabled for transfer (this is usually called “unlocking”), and the authorization code (“auth code”) must be obtained. This is usually a one-step process, although some registrars force the customers to call to obtain this code in an attempt to make it more difficult to transfer away.
3. The new provider is contacted, and provided the domain name and auth code.
4. The new provider will begin the transfer.
5. Within 48 hours, the customer should receive an are-you-sure authorization request. This is often where transfers break, because customers do not always know what to do with these requests, and ignore them or respond incorrectly.
6. If the customer acknowledges the transfer correctly, within 3-5 days the domain should be transferred to the new registrar, and the customer may begin using that new registrar to maintain the domain.

The whole process may take between 3-7 business days to complete, if all goes well. Note that there are also two alternative methods often use to change a provider:

1. If only the hosting provider will be changed, the DNS provider’s entries may be updated. The advantage is speed – these changes generally take only hours, or even minutes. The drawback is it is a manual operation. The customer must stay involved from that point forward to keep the DNS records up to date, especially if the hosting provider has downtime or scheduled maintenance, or moves a server to another facility. It also exposes the customer to more confusing terms, such as record types, TTL values, etc.
2. Some hosting providers also provide DNS management for free. This addresses the downside in option 1 above, because the hosting provider can then manage these records on the customer’s behalf, streamlining the process.