Top-level domains
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2
Top-level domains
The following is a list of the eight top-level domains most often used on the Internet to classify organizations by type when they register a second-level domain name for use. For example, microsoft.com (the second-level domain name registered to Microsoft) is registered in the "com" domain, because this is the top-level domain provided for organizations that do business (commerce) on the Internet.
| Top-level name | Description | Used by |
|---|---|---|
arpa |
Owned by Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA). Used to register reverse mapping of Internet Protocol (IP) version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6) addresses assigned by the Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) to Domain Name System (DNS) domain names for computers that use those addresses on the Internet. |
The in-addr.arpa domain, the ip6.arpa domain |
com |
For business and commercial use. |
Businesses and corporations |
edu |
For educational use. |
Public and private schools, colleges, and universities |
gov |
For use by governmental institutions. |
Local, state, and federal government agencies |
int |
Reserved for international use. Originally planned for use in RFC 1886 to register reverse mapping of IPv6 addresses. For more information about RFCs, see DNS RFCs. |
|
mil |
For use by military agencies. |
Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and other military agencies |
net |
For use by organizations that provide large-scale Internet or telephony-based service. |
InterNIC, AT&T, and other large-scale Internet and telephone service providers |
org |
For use by noncommercial, nonprofit organizations. |
Churches and charitable institutions |
Note
- In addition to these top-level domains which are all three letters in length, the use of two-letter country/region codes (such as "uk" for United Kingdom) are reserved for use. These country/region codes can also be used in conjunction with the three-letter codes listed above to further specify the country or region of origin for organizations that register names in the Internet DNS namespace.