Definition

Domain names serve to identify Internet resources, such as computers, networks, and services, with a text-based label that is easier to memorize than the numerical addresses used in the Internet protocols.

A domain name may represent entire collections of such resources or individual instances.

  • Individual Internet host computers use domain names as host identifiers, also called hostnames
  • The term hostname is also used for the leaf labels in the domain name system, usually without further subordinate domain name space

Hostnames appear as a component in Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for Internet resources such as websites (e.g., en.wikipedia.org).


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