[gnso-irtp-b-jun09] From the ICANN Glossary: "Registrar" and "Registry"

[Olof Nordling <olof.nordling@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear all,
As promised on the call, excerpts from the ICANN Glossary below.
Best regards
Olof
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Registrar

Domain names ending with .aero, .biz, .com, .coop, .info, .museum, .name, .net, 
.org, and .pro can be registered through many different companies (known as 
"registrars") that compete with one another. A listing of these companies 
appears in the Accredited Registrar 
Directory<http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html>.

The registrar you choose will ask you to provide various contact and technical 
information that makes up the registration. The registrar will then keep 
records of the contact information and submit the technical information to a 
central directory known as the "registry." This registry provides other 
computers on the Internet the information necessary to send you e-mail or to 
find your web site. You will also be required to enter a registration contract 
with the registrar, which sets forth the terms under which your registration is 
accepted and will be maintained.

Registry

The "Registry" is the authoritative, master database of all domain names 
registered in each Top Level Domain. The registry operator keeps the master 
database and also generates the "zone file" which allows computers to route 
Internet traffic to and from top-level domains anywhere in the world. Internet 
users don't interact directly with the registry operator; users can register 
names in TLDs including .biz, .com, .info, .net, .name, .org by using an 
ICANN-Accredited Registrar.