InterNIC / DNS - FAQ

1. What is InterNIC registration services?
2. How do I register a new domain name?
3. How do I modify an existing domain name to work with
    WebHostPage?
4. How can I check if the domain I want is available?
5. What are valid characters for a domain name, and how
    long can it be?
6. How much does WebHostPage charge to handle domain
    registration?
7. How long does it take InterNIC to register a new domain?
8. How long does it take InterNIC to modify an existing domain?

What is InterNIC?

InterNIC Registration Services is located at Network Solutions, Inc., Herndon, VA, and is funded by a cooperative agreement
from the National Science Foundation to provide registration services for the Internet community via telephone, electronic mail,
and U.S. postal mail. Registration Services works closely with domain administrators, network coordinators, Internet service
providers, and other various users in its registration activities.

Registration Services registers domains and produces the domain zone files for the community. Registration Services also provides
assistance to users concerning policy and the status of their existing registration requests.

How do I register a new domain name?

First - check to see if the domain you want is available.  You can do this at http://www.WebHostPage.com/whois.html .

Second - Decide if you want WebHostPage to handle the domain registration, or if you would like to handle it yourself.  WebHostPage will not charge you any additional fees for this service, however, InterNIC will still bill you for the domain name registration.   InterNIC will charge you $35/year for domain registration with a minimum of 2 years at the start meaning that you will be required to pay $70 U.S. when you register your domain name.  InterNIC's payment options can be found at

http://www.networksolutions.com/help/general/cost.html

To have WebHostPage register the domain for you, just select "I would like WebHostPage to handle domain registration" when you fill out our orderform at http://www.webhostpage.com/pricing.html .  Instructions on registering the domain name yourself can be found at

http://www.networksolutions.com

You will be required to provide the following information when registering a new domain name:

How do I modify an existing domain name to work with WebHostPage?

There are several ways to modify an existing a domain name to point to WebHostPage's DNS servers.  The easiest way is via email, however, this will not always work.  To modify a domain via email, you need to have access to an email address listed in the InterNIC whois database.  You can find this information at http://www.WebHostPage.com/whois.html .   If you do not have access to one of the email addresses listed in the whois database, you will need to perform the transfer via FAX.  This method is a little more time consuming, but will guarantee that the domain modification will take place, and usually ends up getting the domain transferred quicker.

Email - WebHostPage can help you modify your domain via email.   Just email support@WebHostPage.com with your domain name, along with the email address listed in the whois database that you have access to.  We will then send you an email with the domain modifications in it, which you will need to forward to hostmaster@internic.net to start the modification process.  To perform the changes yourself, you can use the form at

http://www.networksolutions.com/makechanges/

Select "Modify Domain" and enter the email address listed in the whois database that you have access to.  You will then need to modify the following fields:

InterNIC will then send an email to the address specified which you will need to forward to hostmaster@internic.net to start the domain modification.

FAX - Modifying a domain via fax is a little more complicated.   First, you will need to get a tracking number from InterNIC.  You can either have WebHostPage get the tracking number for you by sending an email to support@WebHostPage.com letting them know that you would like to transfer your domain to WebHostPage's DNS servers and you need help getting a tracking number.  It could take them up to 24 hours to get the tracking number from InterNIC.  To get the tacking number yourself, you can use the form at

http://www.networksolutions.com/makechanges/

Select "Modify Domain" and enter your email address.  You will then need to modify the following fields:

InterNIC will then send an email to the address specified which you will need to forward to hostmaster@internic.net.   InterNIC will then send you an autoreply letting you know that they have received the request.  In that email they will list a tracking number in the form of:

NIC-YYMMDD-XXXXX

Once you have the InterNIC tracking number, you will need to create the FAX.  For InterNIC to verify that you are who you say you are, the fax must be on company letterhead (if you don't have any, you can make some up...). You will need to print out this FORM, fill it out completely and fax it to 703-742-9552 .  Please document the date and time you fax the verification, and the phone number from which you send the fax. This information will be needed for follow up action on faxed verifications.

How can I check if the domain I want is available?

You can use our web interface to the whois database which can be found at http://www.WebHostPage.com/whois.html .   If it returns "No match for domain YOURDOMAIN.COM" that means its free.   If it returns information including the address and email address of other individuals, that means it is owned by them, and you will need to select an alternate domain.  If it says "WHOIS database is down - Try again later", just do what it says and try again later :)

What are valid characters for a domain name, and how long can it be?

This information was taken from InterNIC's site:

http://rs.internic.net/faq/valid_name.html

The only valid characters for a domain name are letters, numbers and a hyphen "-". Other special characters like the underscore "_" or an exclamation mark "!" are NOT permitted.

A domain name can be up to 26 characters long -- including the 4 characters used to identify the Top Level Domain
(.NET, .COM, .ORG, or .EDU).

example.com is a valid domain name (11 characters)

http://www.example.com is not a domain name, it is a uniform resource locator (URL) used by Web browsers to find documents and resources.

www.example.com is not a domain name, is the name of one computer in the example.com domain.

How much does WebHostPage charge to handle domain registration?

Nothing!  We will handle domain registration, or help you modify your domain to point your domain to our DNS servers for no extra cost.  However, if it is a new domain, InterNIC will still bill you for the domain name.

How long does it take InterNIC to register a new domain?

The process of registering a domain name is increasingly coordinated through an automated process called an "auto-parser." Once you have submitted a complete and correctly formatted Agreement, your registration request will be processed immediately and you will be notified via e-mail when processing is complete. This generally takes less than 24 hours - with some requests turned around in as little as 10 minutes. Sometimes this process can take InterNIC as long as 5 days.  The time of the last update to the Whois database will be noted on the search results page.

How long does it take InterNIC to modify an existing domain?

It takes the same amount of time for InterNIC to accept and process your request to modify a domain as it does to register a new one.  However, because it is an existing domain being transferred, it could take longer.  Read below for an explanation.

Keep in mind, if a domain name was previously registered, and the DNS record is being modified rather than just created, the domain name server information that was previously propagated throughout the Internet has a Time To Live (TTL) value associated with it. Any server on the Internet that has a Domain's previous DNS information will not look up the new domain name server information until the TTL has passed. This causes a greater delay in the new DNS information propagating through the Internet. Most name servers have a TTL of 24 hours but other servers could have a TTL as long as 7 days.