Technical data

90362-01
Joining the Global Internet H-5
Registering a Domain
Once you have a network address, you need to register a domain name. The
domain name uniquely identifies your organization in the Internet commu-
nity. It is used in electronic mail addresses, and for many other IP services.
You must have a network number to assign host addresses for your DNS
server before you can complete the Domain Application form from the NIC.
The NIC will not register a domain unless there are two domain servers: a
primary server and a secondary server. Two servers are required for reliabil-
ity, and it is strongly recommended that the servers be physically separated.
Most often, an organization runs its own primary server, while the secon-
dary is off site. The offsite server can be arbitrary and often is simply a
“network neighbor”. The commercial IP network providers can also act as
DNS servers for smaller sites -- check with your potential service providers
to see if they are set up to do this for your site.
Getting a Physical Connection
The minimum equipment needed to connect to the Internet is a computer
and a modem. However, to connect a LAN to the Internet, you need a router
on the LAN that’s hooked to a modem (or has a built-in modem). Your
physical connection to the Internet must be supported with an IP router; the
NetBlazer can be easily configured to route IP through both LAN and WAN
interfaces. The router directs network traffic outside of your local organiza-
tion, to and from the Internet.
Modems connect to phone lines, of course. You may want to get additional
phone lines, especially if you will be using a dedicated (leased) line for
Internet access.
Your NetBlazer can be set up to use a dedicated line for high speed trans-
mission, or a dial-up connection (through the Public Switched Telephone
System) for a lower-cost connection.