Domain Name

The functionality of a domain name is to provide recognizable names, to mostly numerically addressed Internet resources. This abstraction allows any website to be moved to a different physical location in the address topology of the network, in effect changing the IP address. This translation from domain names to IP addresses is accomplished with the global facilities of Domain Name System (DNS). By allowing the use of unique alphabetical addresses instead of numeric ones, domain names allow webt users to more easily find web sites and any other IP-based communications services. The flexibility of the domain name system allows multiple IP addresses to be assigned to a single domain name, or multiple domain names to be services from a single IP address. This means that one server may have multiple roles (such as hosting multiple independent websites), or that one role can be spread among many servers. One IP address can also be assigned to several servers, as used in anycast networking.