Types of Domain on the Internet
The domain name is the string of alphanumeric characters that we use to refer to the website. On the Internet, these strings are managed by the Domain Name System (DNS). Domain levels or types are part of the domain name and are separated by a dot “.” Thus we have that Internet domains are classified into four main types:
- Top level domains.
- Second level domains.
- Third level domains.
- country domains.
Top level domains
They are also known as TLD (Top Level Domain). This type of domain is not related to a particular country. Internet top-level domains like “com” are shared by all the organizations in that domain. The top-level domain corresponds to the label located to the right of the final period in a domain name. For example, in www.cavsi.com, the top level domain is com.
Top-level domains are recognized by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which operates the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and maintains the DNS root zone.
Second level domains
Second level domains are registered by individuals and organizations. Excluding the top level domain part, second level domain names can be up to 61 characters long. This domain corresponds to the characters located to the left of the final period of any domain name. For example, in www.cavsi.com, the second level domain is cavsi.com
Third level domains
Third level domain names are created by those who own the second level domains. Third level domains can be used to set up individual domains for specific purposes, such as one domain for web access (www.cavsi.com) and another for mail (email.cavsi.com) in the domain name www.cavsi. com, the third level domain name is www.cavsi.com .
country code domains
Every country in the world has its own top-level Internet domain with a unique alphabetic designation. Organizations in each country are responsible for managing the Internet’s top-level domain. For example, the domain name www.turismo.gob.ec “ec” is the top level domain of the country (Ecuador).
