A

A record (Host)

An A record allows you to have different hostnames for your website pointing to different IP addresses, which could be useful if they are hosted on different servers. Note that an A record can only point to one IP address, but several A records can point to the same IP address.

AAAA record (IPV6 Host)

AAAA records are used in much the same way as A records, with the main difference being that they locate IP addresses of the type IPv6 (128-bit) instead of addresses of the type IPv4 (32-bit), as are used by A records.

Authentication code

An authentication code is a random key used by certain top-level domains (TLD) as a security mechanism when a domain name is to be transferred from one registrar to another. It ensures that only the rightful domain owner can control the transfer of domain registration. This code is also knows as auth code and EPP (Extensible Provisioning Protocol) code.

C

Cname (Alias)

CName means Canonical Name Record and is an alias used for representing an IP address. You should change your CName record if you wish to point a domain to a server without using an IP address. This might be useful if the IP address of the server it points to changes often.

D

DNS

The Domain Name System is a system for "translating" the various levels of a domain name into a numerical address (IP address) which can then be used to locate and communicate with servers and websites on the Internet. Without DNS, we would have to remember the IP address of every website we wanted to visit, instead of the domain name. For example, when you type http://www.mamut.com, the computer does not immediately know that it should look for Mamut's website. Instead, it sends a request to the nearest DNS server, which finds the correct IP address for "mamut.com". Then, your computer attempts to connect to the server with that IP number.

Domain frame forwarding

Frame forwarding is a similar technique to domain redirection, but with this method the visitor's browser will show your domain name and not the target address.

Domain locking

Domain locking is a free security enhancement to prevent unauthorised transfers of your domain. A locked domain cannot be transferred without your consent; therefore we strongly recommend that you lock your domain.

Domain name

A domain name is a name that identifies a website. For example, mamut.com, is the domain name of Mamut's website. It is an alias name for a numeric web address.

Domain redirection

Domain redirection, also called URL redirection, is a technique for making a website available under many URLs. It allows you to automatically send a visitor of your domain name to another website. Redirections can be both permanent or temporary.

Domain transfer

A domain transfer is a process in which a domain is moved from one registrar to another registrar.

H

Host

A host is the prefix of your domain name. The most common host is www; as for example in www.mywebsite.com. If a website is composed by several hosts, they might be given different names such as blog.mywebsite.com and gallery.mywebsite.com. Blog and gallery are the hostnames.  

Http

Http, or hyper text transfer protocol, is a system for transmitting and receiving information across the Internet.

Https

Https, or hyper text transfer protocol secure, is a combination of the http protocol with the SSL/TLS protocol to provide encrypted communication and secure identification of a network web server. Https is normally used in login pages for banking, forms or other applications in which data needs to be secure. Note that in order to use the https protocol your Internet service provider has to provide you with an static IP-address and a SSL certificate.

I

IP address

Or Internet Protocol address is a unique number that identifies a computer and its location on the Internet.

IPv4

IPv4 is the version 4 of the Internet Protocol and the most commonly used one. It defines IP addresses in a 32-bit format, which looks like 123.123.123.123. Each three-digit section can include a number from 0 to 255. 

IPv6

Ipv6 is a version of the Internet Protocol that is designed to succeed IPv4. It defines IP addresses in a 128-bit format. 

M

Mail server

A mail server stores incoming mail before sending it to the correct recipient and stores outgoing mail before transferring it to the correct destination server on the Internet. The MX record identifies the mail server that is responsible for handling e-mails within your domain name.

MX (Mail)

The MX (Mail Exchanger) record specifies where the mail addressed to the domain is to be delivered. The MX record identifies the mail server that is responsible for handling e-mails within your domain name.

N

Name server

A name server translates domain names into IP addresses. Each domain name must have at least two name servers listed when the domain is registered.

R

Record

A record - or resource record - is a line of information stored within the domain's zone file. The different records contain various information that enables the data network to give the correct response to a query.

Registrant

A registrant is the individual or organization that holds the right to use a specific domain name. This person or organization is the "domain license holder" or legal entity bound by the domain terms-of-service agreements.

Registrar

A registrar is an organisation that has been accredited by ICANN to register domain name, like Mamut.

S

SRV record (Service)

The SRV record relates to a particular service of the domain; it defines the location of servers for specific services.

T

TLD

TLD, or Top Level Domain, is a domain extension, this means, the part of a domain name which appears after the last dot. For example, the TLD for www.mamut.com is .com.

TXT record (Text)

The TXT record is a customised text message that is directly registered in the zone file of your domain. TXT records can help you to verify your domain ownership and to prevent spam abuse.

A DNS search has to be performed in order to see this text. The text record is used by some companies to verify that customers have access to the zone file and are the real owners of the domain. The host name and value of the record will depend on the purpose of the record, and this might vary between different applications or services. Generally TXT entries are used as SPF records, or Sender Policy Framework records, an e-mail validation system designed to prevent spam abuse.

U

URL

URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is the unique address of a specific website or file on the Internet. A common way to get to a website is to enter the URL of its home page file in your web browser's address line.

W

Web server

A web server is a computer attached to a network whose function is to provide (or serve up) data or other resources to client computers. A web server, for example, sends web pages to the Internet when asked for them by a browser.

WHOIS

WHOIS is a protocol used to query databases that store information about Internet resources, such as domain names or IP addresses, but also used for a wider range of other information.

Z

Zone file

The zone file is a text file containing information about the different Internet services of your domain name. Each zone file contains a list of records, also called resource records, that specify the domain name's name server and/ or the mail server information. There are different types of records, for instance A (address) records, MX (e-mail) records and CName (alias) records.