What is hosting?   The housing of a web site. Your web site must physically reside on a computer (a server) that's connected to the internet, and managed by a hosting company, which ensures it is always available. Hosting companies typically charge a one-time setup fee in addition to the monthly hosting fee.   The term hosting can refer to a variety of Internet-based services. In the context of .nz, the term usually refers to the hosting of a domain name in a particular DNS through an arrangement between a hosting company and a registrant. This is necessary before a domain name can be used on the Internet. The term hosting is also used when companies, or organisations, host people's web sites or email accounts on their computers. This type of hosting falls outside the responsibility of .nz and the DNC. If a registrant experiences a problem with the use of their web site or email address, it is recommended that they approach the organisation hosting the web site or email account first. In many cases, even if the problem lies in the DNS, the same organisation will be responsible for hosting both.   While web pages are designed and developed on a single computer, they must be transferred to a server, or host, so that they are available to the rest of the world over the Internet. A host is simply a computer that has a constant, high speed connection to the Internet. Hosting companies rent space on these machines. Depending on your needs, a hosting plan can cost anywhere between $10 and $200 per month. What is domain name?    A name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name microsoft.com represents about a dozen IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages. For example, in the URL http://www.yahoo.com/index.html, the domain name is Yahoo.com. The unique name that identifies an Internet site. On the Web, the domain name is the part of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) that tells a domain name server where to forward a request for a Web page. For example, the domain name of this web site is starrsites.com.    A name that uniquely identifies an Internet computer site. The domain name for LINCC, Florida's community college library network, is lincc.ccla.lib.fl.us. Domain names always have two or more parts, separated by dots. The first part is a specific computer site name. The second part indicates the type of site. Site types include .edu (educational), .com (commercial), .gov (government), .lib (libraries), and .org (organizations). See also DNS (Domain Name System).    To uniquely identify all computers on the Internet, every computer is assigned a unique IP Address. IP stands for Internet Protocol and these addresses are normally expressed as a string of numbers (eg. 217.27.61.137). Domain names were developed to avoid having to remember the IP addresses of all of the web sites we visit. Through the use of Domain Name Servers, easy-to-remember domain names are automatically translated to their corresponding IP addresses, allowing computers on the Internet to communicate with each other. Domain names typically have several levels, seperated by a dot (ie. a full stop). The right-most level is usually known as the top-level domain, or TLD, and is often represented by a country code, such as .nz. Within .nz, a range of second-level domains, or 2LDs, have been created for specific uses (eg. .co.nz for commercial users and .school.nz for schools). Some 2LDs are subject to moderation and have a restricted usage. InternetNZ, the party delegated to manage the .nz name space, maintains a register of third-level domains for the general public to use on a 'first come, first served' basis. Home Page About dedicated server About managed server About reseller hosting About adult hosting About Windows hosting About Unix hosting? About ASP (Active Server Page) About BackUp About adult hosting About Linux hosting About Co-location About Bandwidth About CGI About ColdFusion About Database server About E-commerce FTP About Frontpage Extension About HTTP About GB (gigabyte) About IIS (Microsoft Internet Information Server) About JSP (Java Server Pages) About MySQL Database About MS Access Database About MS SQL Server About Name Server About Network About NT About ODBC About PHP About PERL About Shell account About SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) About Static IP Statistics About Telnet About UPS About Virtual