Glossary

IP is the abbreviation of Internet Protocol, a network protocol widely used in computer networks. IP addresses facilitate the logical addressing of devices (hosts) in IP networks such as the Internet. A host has at least one IP address.

An IP address written in IP4 version generally takes the form of a sequence of four numbers, each separated by dots, for example 130.59.31.37.

IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) is the successor of Version 4 that is currently in the Internet. The length of IPv6 addresses is 128 bits (IPv4:32 bits). Its length considerably extends the number of addresses.

The IP address space is currently administered worldwide by five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs): RIPE NCC, ARIN, APNIC, LACNIC and AfriNIC. xxxx AfriNIC is responsible for Africa and it allocates large address blocks to its members, generally known as Local Internet Registries (LIRs) LIRs are Local Internet Service Providers who, in turn, allocate IP addresses to their customers.

A country code Top-Level Domain or ccTLD is an Internet geographic Top-level Internet Domain.

For example: .cm for Cameroon, .jp for Japan, .de for Germany, .cn for China etc.

See also TLD, gTLD.

A document containing a set of rules governing a (ccTLD or gTLD) extension. Theoretically, it comprises all administrative, legal and sometimes technical names that can be registered under its extension.

To consult ANTIC’s Naming Charter, click here.

Natural person or corporate body that is responsible for technical questions on a domain name. The name of the technical contact is published in the Whois directory.Natural person or corporate body that is responsible for technical questions on a domain name. The name of the technical contact is published in the Whois directory.

Natural Person or corporate body for whom a domain name is registered.

Domain Name System is a distributed service that records internet resources (computer, router,…) in the form of a domain name (e.g. antic.cm) and matches an IP address.

A term sometimes used to refer to the last part of a domain name.

For example: “.cm” in “antic.cm”.

Service providers who offer various types of Internet access accounts to organisations and individuals. An ISP hires Internet connection and provides the necessary ancillary services. It is also often referred to as ISP (Internet Service Provider)

The Zone file for a .cm Top Level Domain contains a list of all the active .cm domain names with details of competent name servers.

See also DNS.

Generic Top-Level Domain

Top Level Domain Name

For example: .com, .net, .org, .biz, .name etc.

See also Top-Level Domain (TLD).

Hosting is the term used for accommodating a website on a provider’s that is connected up to the Internet. The host (or hosting service provider) is a service provider who makes space memory available on a server for the files that make up a website. The customer can administer their own data there.

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority : a non-profit making US corporation that oversees the global allocation of IP addresses, the allocation of autonomous system numbers, management of the root zone management in the Domain Name System (DNS).

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is non-profit making and is known as a public service organization that bring together participants from around the world in order to preserve the security, stability and interoperability of Internet.

The host name clearly identifies a unique computer in its network. In a URL, the host name comes straight after the designation of the protocol and before the domain name. In most cases, the host name is allocated according to the purpose for which the computer is used. The most familiar example of this is the “www” in URLs. This designation has become established as the host name of the computer on which the WWW service runs, i.e. the web server. Whether the website goes with or without the “www” in front of the domain name will depend on the provider’s configurations. (sometimes both are possible).

Domain names are an addressing method used to identify computers in the Internet. They make it possible for users to employ words and terms instead of rows of figures (IP addresses).

See also DNS, IP Address.

A Registry is an organisation that administers the Domain Name System (DNS) for a particular country. It is responsible, in particular, for registering domain names with the corresponding country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD). ANTIC is IE’s Registry for Cameroon.

A Registrar is a company that has signed a contract with a registry and offers its customers a range of services including domain name registration. The registrar is thus a registry’s resale partner.

List of approved Registrar Offices

The second-highest level of the hierarchy in the DNS in a URL, the position of the Second Level Domain to the left of the Top-Level Domain.

The web server is a network service on a computer that is connected up to the Internet (server) and which supplies the desired documents (e.g. a web page and its graphics). One familiar web server is the Apache HTTP.

A server is used to host the software and data needed to match IP addresses and domain names of computers under its authority and Internet resources.

When the URL on a web page is entered into a browser, a name server must render a corresponding IP address so that the browser can establish a direct connection to the site. For a domain name to work on the Internet, at least one name server must be configured and registered in the registrar’s database and the zone file.

There are three types DNS servers, top, secondary and recursive.

Top Level Domain

Top Level Domain There are two types of TLD: Country-specific (ccTLD) (.fr, .de …) and Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) (.com, .biz…).

ITU (International Telecommunication Union) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs.

 

 

Wide Area Network, known in French as “toile d’araignée”.

Symbolises a meshed network of information servers like a spider web. These servers range from personal web pages and blogs to database interfaces.

Synonyms: W3, WWW, World Wide Web, Internet…

World Wide Web Consortium