Once
you have completed the registration, you might want to carry out various
administrative tasks on your domain control panel. Chief amongst them are
the following.
Changing name servers.
Domain Name servers are machines on the Internet which
translate domain names into IP addresses. Your domain name must use at least
one name server in order to function properly. You can use the default name
servers provided by the domain registrar or you can use the name servers provided
by your web hosting company.
This information is of vital importance when you
actually start hosting. We will explain to you why it is necessary and
important step by
step.
The process of name resolution:
 | When you register a domain name, your name servers
will be your registrars own name server. |
| Once you start hosting, your site is going to be
running at the web host who will run it on a different address from what
the registrar had used. |
| Hence you need to then change the entries at the
registrar for your name server to point to web host’s name servers.
|
| Web host’s name server knows where (at which address
on their hosting server) your site is located. |
| This means anyone accessing your site will first
come to registrar for name server address and since registrar is pointing
to your host, they will then be directed to the host for the name
resolution of your site. (Part of the resolution process prior to this,
might involve your ISP’s name servers, root servers, your local network
name servers etc. Also if the information is cached on a PC locally, a
direct contact to the web server can be made.) |
How to change name servers:
You need to come to your domain registrar control panel
to change the name servers to the hosting company provided name servers.
Once there, do a careful modification of the name
server settings since this is critical information in leading a visitor to
your site. By mistake you point the user to a wrong address initially or in
the future, you and your visitors will face failure in accessing the site.
Locking your domain:
Locking a domain name adds an additional level of security
to your domain name.
Locking prevents you from changing records such as name
servers and contact information, without first unlocking the domain. It also
automatically rejects requests to transfer the domain away from your
registrar at the registry level.
Locking a domain does not prevent someone from unlocking the domain and
making changes from within the control panel. Your most important security
measure should always be to not share your password with anyone and to
change it periodically.
Recently there have been some cases where people made
transfer of domains using bogus requests and then sometimes
succeeded and got the name transferred to them. This can spell disaster.
Hence locking is one feature that’s critical.
Next : Few prominent
registrars
