subject: What Is A Name Server? [print this page] One has to understand the need for name servers to understand what name servers actually are. The computer does not understand human language like English or any other language. So when you type in your domain name, it means nothing to your computer. For the computer to understand the domain name, it has to be converted in to a set of numbers called the IP addresses.An IP address will look something like this: 202.157.34.10. Is is not easy to remember a string of numbers like remembering a domain name. Hence, We have domain names that are easy to remember and understand and each domain name has a corresponding IP address for the computer to understand.
The domain name needs to be translated into an IP address for the computer to understand. Name servers translate the domain names into corresponding IP addresses, so that, the computers can understand the requests. A name server is like a directory of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. Name servers are also known as Domain Name System Servers or DNS System Servers.
All the information from all the name servers is stored in a central registry. It takes about 8 to 48 hours to update a central registry when a new domain name is registered. All the name servers around the world can access the information from the central registry.
A domain name needs atleast 2 name servers to be registered. These are usually ns1.nameservername.com and ns2.nameservername.com. Here, nameservername is the name of the server. The first is the primary name server and the second is the secondary which acts as a back up that comes handy only if and when the first server is not responding.
In order to register a domain name, you need to follow certain steps. While there may be some difference between the domain registrars, the broad steps are given below. For example, if you want to register a .com domain name, the follwing steps need to followed:
* You will get an account with the domain registrar when you register a domain name. Log into your account with the registrar.
* You will then see an option to manage your domain name within your account.
* Select the domain name for which you need to register a name server. This will take you to a page for managing the domain.
* On this page, select "add name server" under the name server details section.
* Enter the name and IP address of the new name server and click "Add"
* You will get a confirmation message indicating that you have added a new name server.
You can start using the new name server immediately after registering.
