Domains
Contents
Definition of a Domain
A domain name is a word or set of words followed by a suffix (e.g.: xmission.com) that can be associated with many Internet services. The most popular association is for web pages (e.g.: http://www.xmission.com). Domain names are also used with mail (e.g.: username@xmission.com), ftp (e.g.: ftp.xmission.com) and several other popular services. The way a domain name is linked to a service is through DNS or Domain Name Services. DNS links a name to an IP address (a set of numbers that identifies each individual machine connected to the Internet). Nearly everything on the Internet has an IP address in one form or another. Linking a domain name to an IP address makes it easier for people to remember. For example, if you wanted to go to XMission's home page, you would find it easier to remember www.xmission.com than the IP address, which is 198.60.22.4.
Domain Registration
To register a new domain, you must first have an XMission account. Existing customers can, then, go to the domain registration system to either register a new domain or transfer an existing domain from another registrar.
Pricing
You can register your own domain name for as low as $12 a year. Should you move or decide to leave XMission, this domain will remain yours for the duration of the time purchased. Domains purchased via XMission are transferable to other registrars.
New Domains
On our registration page enter the domain name you would like to register in the box labeled followed by clicking Check Availability. If the domain is available, you will be allowed to continue the registration. Fill in the information as prompted to complete the process. Note that you will be asked to create a username and password for your domain management. This does not have to be the same as your XMission username and password, so be certain that you don't lose it. The domain registration fee will be billed to your XMission account.
Renewing
When your domain is up for renewal, OpenSRS, the registrar we resell through, will send a paper invoice to the billing address on the domain. As an additional reminder, XMission will send an email reminder to the account that the domain was registered to. The charge for an extra year will be charged along with your next month of Internet services. If you do not wish to renew, please contact accounting and notify them that you would like the domain to lapse.
Redemption
One of the mostly costly things to happen to a domain is when they go into a redemption.
Redemption is when a domain has gone through a renewal phase without payment. This phase is usually 40 days from the first warning. It will then sit 30 days in a hold state until its released into the general public. The cost for bringing a domain out of redemption is $80 dollars that includes the 1 year renewal.
Transferring
If you are transferring a domain to XMission from another registrar, go to our registration page and select . You will be guided through the rest of the process as if you were registering a new domain. Another year will be added to your existing term. (E.g. If you registered for a year with another registrar and there is still 6 months left, you will still have that 6 months in addition to your new registration duration with XMission.)
NOTE: In order to successfully transfer a domain, XMission requires customers to keep their email addresses current.
When a customer decides to transfer a domain, they will receive a series of emails with instructions on the process. However, the following challenges often arise:
1. The email never arrives due to spam filters, etc.
2. The customer may not respond quickly enough to the emails. After 5 days, the customer must start the transfer again.
3. The customer may have the wrong email address associated with the domain.
4. The customer may not have their password for the domains management page, which is separate from their XMission account password.
To successfully transfer a domain, the following conditions must exist:
1. A domain cannot be in a locked or hold status.
2. For reseller to reseller transfers - or registrar to registrar transfers - the domain must have resided with the losing registrar for more than 60 days since it was first registered or transferred there.
3. Transfers add one year to the domain's registration; therefore, the gaining reseller must have a sufficient balance for the renewal in order to complete the transfer request.
4. Domain names that are expired but not deleted (up to 40 days past the expiry date, for most TLDs) can be transferred.
5.The current administrative contact's email address must be valid, to allow for the confirmation of the transfer request.
NOTE: A domain's name servers cannot be changed during a registrar transfer. The nameservers will remain the same during the transfer, and they can be changed once the domain has reached the receiving registrar.
Extra Info
Not all registrars handle transfers/renewals or registrations the same as our reseller. Some places don't want to let domains go so they drag their feet and make it difficult which is annoying but there really is nothing we can do about it.
See Also
DNS Services
XMission offers additional DNS services, which many hosting packages already include. You may want to use these in addition to a hosting package. They're also available for those who only require one of these services and not an entire hosting package. Please see our Pricing for a complete price list.
Primary DNS
The authoritative primary source for domain service direction. (E.g. Tells the whole world at which IP address to find where to send mail for mydomain.com or what IP address is associated with bob.mydomain.com.)
Secondary DNS
Back-up source for domain service direction. This is only necessary if the primary source does not answer.
Parking
Holding a registered domain with no associated services.
Alias
A domain name that resolves to another domain name. (E.g. http://www.example.com would open the same file as http://www.example/webpage.html) An alias will keep the domain the visitor entered in the address bar of their browser.
Redirect
A domain name that's directed to another part of your web site. (E.g. http://subdomain.example.com would open the files under /home/users/a/acctname/subdomain, or another chosen directory.)
Domain Locking
When locking is enabled for a domain, any requests to transfer the domain to another registrar or hosting company will automatically fail. This can be used to prevent fraudulent transfers of the domain, while locking is enabled. Domain locking is handled through the OpenSRS Domain Management Portal.
WHOIS/Contact Privacy
Domain Name WHOIS / Contact Privacy hides the identity of a domain Registrant when someone does a WHOIS lookup on that Registrant’s domain. The benefit of having WHOIS Privacy is that the Registrant’s identity, including address, phone number, and email address, is shielded from spammers, identity thieves, scammers, and other undesirables. WHOIS privacy is handled through the OpenSRS Domain Management Portal. Once logged in, select Reseller Contact, then next to Enable Whois Privacy select Hide, and lastly hit save.
Contact Privacy is $3.00 per domain yearly and is a non-refundable fee. Note: This fee from XMission is approximately half of what the other common registrar services charge.
You can enable Contact Privacy for a domain at any time. If enabled, it expires at the same time as the domain name. If the domain is set to auto-renew, Contact Privacy also auto-renews (and incurs any associated cost) at the same time.
If someone tries to contact an email address associated with a domain that is protected by Contact Privacy, they receive an auto-responder message instructing them to visit contactprivacy.com in order to reach the registrant.
A deeper explanation of this privacy practice can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_privacy
If you require assistance in enabling this service please contact XMission's Support team or your Sales agent. http://xmission.com/contact
