Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)
Internet standard. A human-readable label that identifies a specific server on the internet.
A Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) sets the complete address for a specific location in the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy. This is also known as the absolute domain name.
An FQDN consists of four parts. Using the example of mail.sys.example.com, these parts include:
| Part | Abbr | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top level domain | TLD | Trunk of the DNS hierarchy | .com |
| Domain | Branding for a specific entity on the internet | .example | |
| Partially qualified domain name | PQDN | Virtual space that identifies part of an entity, like its systems team | .sys |
| Hostname | Label for a specific server or host in the domain | mail |
To connect to a server or service on the internet, always use the FQDN.