What is ICANN, and How is it Related to Registries and Registrars?

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Created in 1988, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a not-for-profit, public benefit corporation that helps to keep the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It serves as the authority on domain names and on a series of Internet-related tasks. The rationale behind the creation of this group was that it was important to establish a central figure which could not only determine but also enforce Internet and Internet domain rules, regulations, and policies. ICANN has played, and continues to play, an essential role in the creation and maintenance of the Internet.
ICANN is managed by a Board of Directors, which is composed of representatives of the Supporting Organizations, sub-groups that focus on specific sections of the policies under ICANN's realm, independent representatives of the general public interest that are selected through a nominating committee in which all of the constituencies of ICANN are represented; and finally the President and CEO, appointed by the rest of the Board.
Currently, there are three Supporting Organizations: 1) The Generic Names Supporting Organization (GNSO) that focuses on policy making on generic top top-level domains (gTLDs), 2) The Country Code Names Supporting Organization (CCNSO) which deals with policy regarding country code top-level domains (ccTLD), and 3) The Address Supporting Organization (ASO) which deals with policy on IP addresses.
ICANN also relies on advisory committees to balance advice on the interest and needs of stakeholders that do not participate directly with the Supporting Organizations, including: 1) The Government Advisory Committee (GAC), comprised of representatives of a large number of national governments from across the globe, 2) The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC), comprised of representatives from organizations of individual Internet users from around the world, 3) The Root Server System Advisory Committee (RSSAC) which provides advice on the operation of the DNS root server system, 4) The Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), comprised of Internet experts who study security issues related to ICANN's mandate and 5) The Technical Liaison Group (TLG), comprised of representatives of other international technical organizations that focus in part on the Internet 6) The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), comprised of individuals who help to make the Internet work better by producing high quality, relevant technical documents that influence the way people design, use, and manage the Internet.
The duties of ICANN are broad and variable. They include the regulation of larger scale issues involving the general structure and design of the Internet, something that is important to keeping the system working smoothly and efficiently, and involvement in the regulation of seemingly smaller details, such as issues with specific domain names as well as specific registrars. Many have described ICANN as serving the roles of both the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Communications Commission all in one, as they both keep track of the businesses involved in registration as well as the function of the Internet itself.
One of the primary responsibilities of ICANN is the regulation of the domain hierarchies, particularly in relation to the management of top level domains (TLDs). ICANN has long regulated the use of top level domains including .com, .net, and .org. In addition to these mainstays, ICANN has played an integral role in determining the newer TLDs that have been created as of this date. This long and ever growing list includes TLDs such as .gov (reserved for governmental offices), .info (intended to be used by informational websites), and .mil (reserved for use by military offices). ICANN also regulates country-specific TLDs such as .uk (for the United Kingdom), .us (the United States), .fr (France), and .br (Brazil).
ICANN works in concert with with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), who is responsible for allocating and maintaining unique codes and numbering systems that are used in the technical standards ('protocols') that drive the Internet, such as DNS Root, IP addressing, and other Internet protocol resources. ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers)is the US regional Internet registry that manages the technical coordination and management of the Internet., and IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) controls numbers for protocols, the Country Code Top Level Domains and maintains the IP Address allotments. So while ICANN works with aspects of domain name creation and regulation, IANA and ARIN work with the numbering and IP address assignment. The assignment of IP addresses is critical, and serves as the backbone of the Internet. These sequences of numbers are far more important to the ability of the Internet to function than domain names themselves, which help with ease of navigation. A good parallel would be to think of domain names as street names. Street names are important because they help people navigate. The IP addresses, on the other hand, are the geographical location of the streets themselves.
Another key responsibility of ICANN is accreditation and supervision of domain name registrars. There are too many domain names being registered, re-registered, and expired for ICANN to manage this process itself. As a result, ICANN has authorized and accredited a number of independent organizations and companies with the task of serving as the parties who actually facilitate the domain name registration process for Internet end-users. These groups are known as domain name registrars, and some well known ones are Go Daddy, eNom, Tucows, Network Solutions and Euro DNS. In accrediting a registrar, ICANN confirms that the registrar is trusted to be used by individuals looking to register domain names.
Once an Internet end-user registers a domain name with a domain registrar, the necessary domain name information is sent to a domain name registry (a domain name registry is often defined as a database of top level domain names that have been registered.) who in turn enters the information into the centralized Registry database. A registry operator, also known as a Network Information Center (NIC), also plays an important part in the DNS of the Internet. Their role is to generate the zone files necessary to convert domain names into IP addresses. Each NIC is an organization in charge of registering domain names within the top-level domain names for which it is responsible, governing the policies of domain name allocation, and operating the technical end of its top-level domain. Verisign is the most well known of all registries and is the authoritative registry operator for two of the Internet's most critical top-level domains (.com and .net).

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What is ICANN, and How is it Related to Registries and Registrars?

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