Despite its activities in web development, it has not yet reached a deep understanding of the essence of the Internet and this issue is one of the steps on the way to understanding.

In Wikipedia, in the article "Internet" among the legal aspects and general properties of the Internet is given:

The Internet has no owner, since it is a collection of networks that have different geographical affiliations.

If a person who had not previously dealt with the Internet reads this, he may certainly come to the conclusion that all that is needed to publish his site on the Internet is a computer connected to the Internet and no hosting companies or domain name registrars.

As far as I know, in order to start “broadcasting” your site to the Internet, you need to open the 80th port (for example, using Apache web server, which is software). Of course, the security of such a personal broadcast for a computer is another matter. But what is technically the purchase of a domain name? Why can't we add an arbitrary domain name to our site at least within certain domain zones and broadcast it from our computer under this domain name? It turns out that the Internet still has an owner who gives domain registrars the right to sell these domain names?

  • I think it meant that the Internet consists of a set of networks and each of them belongs to someone, but in general this web cannot be controlled by a single organization. Something like a joint stock company is obtained. - koks_rs

2 answers 2

There is no owner of the Internet, but there is a coordinator. Historically, the focal point is ICANN .

Why can't we just take an arbitrary name like that? Because this name must be known to everyone and uniquely resolved in the IP address of the computer. For this is the DNS . And it is precisely for making an entry in this global for the whole world table of correspondence between names and IP addresses that you pay when you buy a domain name.

Can I not pay? Can. For example, you can enter a name and IP match in the local hosts . But then the site will be accessible only from those computers where we have changed this file. You can raise your own DNS server, on which you can specify our name and use this server for all computers that need our website. But it is unlikely that an arbitrary user on the web would agree to this. In addition, if each site makes such a server, then it will be absolutely inconvenient for the client to constantly rewrite this DNS server address. (But this is a good solution for internal networks of organizations.) Therefore, most prefer to pay and not suffer.

There is another way to get a name for free. It is necessary to find someone who has already bought the name of the second level (or lower), for example, example.org , agree with him and ask him to make a lower level entry, for example, vasya.example.org . This can be done, because the domain owner can register any records for all subdomains.

  • one
    It should be added that some second-level domains can be obtained for free. For example, .tk , .ga , .ml , .cf and others - mymedia

Technically, for the site and really enough Internet-connected computer with an open port. Here are just a site visitors will have to go to the IP-address.

And the IP-address, generally speaking, is the property of the provider and can be changed. In this case, you have to somehow tell all visitors your new address.

Comment. Generally speaking, it is possible to acquire a permanent IP address - but this is available only to legal entities and will cost more than a domain name.

One way to do this is to use DNS. A service that converts those same domain names into IP addresses. Registrars have the right to create second-level domains. That's what they have to pay for the domain.

After purchasing a domain name becomes yours - as long as you pay for it. In particular, this means that no one without your knowledge can take it from you (except in court in some cases).

Owning second-level domains you can create any number of third-level and lower-level domains for free. Sometimes you need to raise your DNS server and open port 53, sometimes it is not necessary (depending on the registrar).

There are also services that distribute free third-level domain names. But, generally speaking, your domain names are also not.

Technically, the purchase of a domain name is that you pay the registrar for recording a name to match your IP address to a certain general list.

  • one
    I would like to note that many providers provide a "static IP" service to individuals and it is not that expensive. And you can take the name without trial. Many registrars simply block their name when they receive abuses. Yes, and the realities of Russia in the form of Roskomnadzor, too, has not been canceled. - user194374
  • one
    @kff nonetheless, static IP remains the property of the provider. You can not take this IP and go with it to another provider. If you use it for your site directly - the site is forever tied to a particular provider. - Pavel Mayorov