* Whois Lookup: A search of a root server to determine if a domain name has been registered and, if it has, who the owner is. Example of whois for google.com:

Domain Name: GOOGLE.COM
Registrar: MARKMONITOR INC.
Whois Server: whois.markmonitor.com
Referral URL: http://www.markmonitor.com
Name Server: NS1.GOOGLE.COM
Name Server: NS2.GOOGLE.COM
Name Server: NS3.GOOGLE.COM
Name Server: NS4.GOOGLE.COM
Status: clientDeleteProhibited
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Status: clientUpdateProhibited
Updated Date: 10-apr-2006
Creation Date: 15-sep-1997
Expiration Date: 14-sep-2011

Registrant:
Dns Admin
Google Inc.
Please contact contact-admin@google.com 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043
US
dns-admin@google.com +1.6502530000 Fax: +1.6506188571

Domain Name: google.com

Registrar Name: Markmonitor.com
Registrar Whois: whois.markmonitor.com
Registrar Homepage: http://www.markmonitor.com

Administrative Contact:
DNS Admin
Google Inc.
1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Mountain View CA 94043
US
dns-admin@google.com +1.6506234000 Fax: +1.6506188571
Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
DNS Admin
Google Inc.
2400 E. Bayshore Pkwy
Mountain View CA 94043
US
dns-admin@google.com +1.6503300100 Fax: +1.6506181499

Created on..............: 1997-09-15.
Expires on..............: 2011-09-13.
Record last updated on..: 2008-06-08.

Domain servers in listed order:

ns1.google.com
ns3.google.com
ns2.google.com
ns4.google.com

* WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization, takes care of intellectual property rights of people, companies, or organisations of its member states. Similar to UDRP, the WIPO tries to resolve domain name disputes for ccTLDs.

*Zone: A division of the entire domain name space that is characterized by the data stored on a particular name server.

* Zone File: A file that holds the data describing a division of the entire domain name space.