DOMAIN NAMES/INTERNET ADDRESS COORDINATION

Who coordinate and set address or what we called as Domain Names in the internet?

The agency that coordinate the internet address or Domain Names is Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

The Domain Names must be unique either as a name or a number compare to the others because the computer will know where to find each other. Therefore ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world so the internet will become global.

ICANN coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS), Internet Protocol (IP) address, space allocation, protocol identifier assignment, generic Top Level Domain (gTLD), and country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) name system management and root server system management functions.

These services were originally performed under U.S Government contract by the Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA). ICANN now performs the IANA function.

Meanwhile, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a department of ICANN responsible for coordinating some of the key elements that keep the Internet running smoothly. Whilst the Internet is renowned for being a worldwide network free from central coordination, there is a technical need for some key parts of the Internet to be globally coordinated – and this coordination role is undertaken by IANA.

Specifically, IANA allocates and maintains unique codes and numbering systems that are used in the technical standards (“protocols”) that drive the Internet. IANA’s various activities can be broadly grouped in to three categories:

• Domain Names
  IANA manages the DNS root, the .int and .arpa domains, and an IDN practices resource.
• Number Resources
  IANA coordinates the global pool of IP and AS numbers, providing them to Regional Internet Registries.
• Protocol Assignment
  Internet protocols’ numbering systems are managed by IANA in conjunction with standards bodies.

IANA is one of the Internet's oldest institutions, with its activities dating back to the 1970s. Today it is a set of services provided by ICANN, an internationally-organised non-profit organisation set up by the Internet community to help coordinate IANA's areas of responsibilities. (Sources from ICANN and IANA)