Patent ID: 7464136

Claim:
In a messaging system, a method of automatically registering a new domain name with a registrar and associating an existing Internet Protocol (IP) address of a message server with the new domain name such that messages corresponding to the new domain name can be appropriately routed to the message server by utilizing a configuration tool that assists a user in automatically registering the new domain name with a domain name registrar, the method utilized by the configuration tool comprising: the configuration tool executing within a client environment; prompting a user for a new domain name; receiving a user request to acquire a new domain name corresponding to a top-level domain extension; based on the top-level domain extension, accessing a centralized database for retrieving a list of a plurality of registrars capable of registering the new domain name within the top-level domain; presenting the list of the plurality of registrars within a user interface; in response to the presented list of registrars, receiving user input selecting a registrar from among the list of the plurality of registrars for registering the new domain name; automatically establishing a communication with the selected registrar's registration process; automatically determining the existing IP address corresponding to a message server to which messages addressed to the new domain name are to be routed; and sending at least the IP address of the message server to be associated with the new domain name to the registrar's registration process for inclusion in a domain name service (DNS) to enable proper routing of messages to the message server; and sending an indication of confirmation of the successful registration of the new domain to the user interface.