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Why do some Verizon websites have www22. in the address bar?

When I called and ordered Verizon, I asked and the person said that it should be www.verizon.net. I switched to Verizon from Cablevision and the same weird things happen for some reason. Such as when I am on a Verizon website and am redirected or something to a www22.verizon.com website.

Anyway, the person said that he didn't know what that was about or why that happens, and neither do I. Then when I called Verizon when I was trying to set up the dsl internet, a different guy told me that it is normal and not anything to worry about. But I still think that it is weird.

Comments

somegirl

A quick Google search reveals that you are not alone in wondering. Several sources suggest it's a load balancing sub domain:

http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=88777

http://linux.ittoolbox.com/groups/technical-functional/linuxadmin-l/what-does-www22-or-www12-mean-in-domain-name-1407336

http://forums.seochat.com/google-optimization-7/how-why-use-www22-features-216422.html

It is definitely normal for Verizon sites though (note most of those questions refer to Verizon sites specifically), and nothing to worry about.

NetworkingJoe

So does any of that accomplish anything?

armond_in_nj1

@NetworkingJoe wrote:
So does any of that accomplish anything?

Maybe a Google for "load balancing" will help, in particular the Wikipedia article on the subject. Good luck.

NetworkingJoe

And there's another weird thing that happens for some reason. A response from "armond" after responding to emails from a seller on Craigslist that is, suppoedly at least, in a town called Almond. Why does that happen for some reason? It is also one of the reasons that I switched to Verizon from Cablevision.

I have to assume that it is done on purpose for some reason, especially when I have other examples of things like that happening. Again, accomplish anything?

smith6612

www22 is just as effective as having no CNAME at the beginning of a domain name. In other words, if you get to the right place in the grand scheme of things it is not a problem. As some suggested, it could be a load balancing web server setup, it could be eye candy, or it could be to the point of helping a webmaster identify where it was served from in a fast, easy sense. Maybe it is to confuse users, or it is there to help users. Who knows.

The Verizon site has been like that for years. It is not a problem and never will be.

NetworkingJoe

Is the number 22 supposed to be symbolic of something though, because like I mentioned, the Verizon person that I placed the order with didn't know what that was about. I guess DirecTV doesn't either though huh, with the commercial with a guy with a large number 22 on his shirt? Seems kind of weird to me.

Is this supposed to be more brainwashing, where I am supposed to think that the number 22 in some way covers some obsessive cultist criminal for my advertisements, and websites and services that I use, or try to use, etc not being on the World Wibe Web for some reason? Because it sure seems like they aren't, and has at least seemed that way for quite some time, which is one of the reasons that I switched internet sevice providers, among other suspicious internet, if that's what it is, activity.

smith6612

@NetworkingJoe wrote:
Is the number 22 supposed to be symbolic of something though, because like I mentioned, the Verizon person that I placed the order with didn't know what that was about. I guess DirecTV doesn't either though huh, with the commercial with a guy with a large number 22 on his shirt? Seems kind of weird to me.
Is this supposed to be more brainwashing, where I am supposed to think that the number 22 in some way covers some obsessive cultist criminal for my advertisements, and websites and services that I use, or try to use, etc not being on the World Wibe Web for some reason? Because it sure seems like they aren't, and has at least seemed that way for quite some time, which is one of the reasons that I switched internet sevice providers, among other suspicious internet, if that's what it is, activity.

No. Like I mentioned, it's just a name, although the numbers deal could be because the marketing teams are the same which I doubt. Here's another example. A small dial-up ISP in my area, Wizard Communications has the domain wzrd.com. If you try to visit http://wzrd.com/ you will get a Server Not Found error from your browser if you use proper DNS servers. However, if you visit http://www.wzrd.com/ the site loads up absolutely fine. I asked about this years ago while talking to the company on behalf of an old client of mine and they mentioned their domain was set up like that due to an older, now de-commissioned setup which used to use wzrd.com for something else. They never bothered to fix it since most knew their site as www.wzrd.com.

Now, moving onto other things, let's use Google. Google owns the domain google.com. If you visit http://google.com/ it redirects to http://www.google.com/ which is how the web has known their homepage address for years. google.com simply redirects to www.google.com. google.com is still the site, and www. is a cname or otherwise a "Human Friendly" name to tag along with it's name. Google can also be accessed by visiting https://google.com/ . This redirects you to https://www.google.com/ but you can also get to the same exact place by visiting http://encrypted.google.com/ OR https://encrypted.google.com/ . They all go to the same place, but have different names.

Here's what would be strange though. Let's say www22.verizon.com or verizon.com is supposed to be Verizon, but when your computer goes to look up an IP address using DNS (The phone book of the Internet), it does not get the correct IP Address (phone number equivalent, but for the Internet). That would be suspicious for sure. Unless you have a shady, underground ISP which Verizon does not happen to be, such is usually the behavior of malware adjusting settings on your machine or network, and this happens mostly from poor surfing habits and also having a poorly secured router (WEP to no security on Wi-FI, and router admin password left as "admin" or "password" equivalents). You could also be suspicious of the domain if you see something like www22.verizon.com.thisisahackeddomain.blogspot.com in the URL box which is most certainly not Verizon.

So, like I mentioned before, it's just a name. If you're seeing issues, something else could be amiss. Otherwise, take it for what it is, a name. Just like the World Wide Web is a name for a Global Communications network, also known as The Internet, The Web, and so on, and the way a company network spanning the globe could be called an Extranet.

What determines where you're going, depends on the following:

1: IP address type and location in the world if it's not defined as a non-routable address. IP addresses identify devices on a network of any size.

2: DNS names, which resolve down into one or more IP Addresses.

3: Protocol being used. In this case, Internet Protocol (IP) defines you're accessing a resource suc has the Internet /.World Wide Web and the computer has to run through routines programmed to allow for access. You then have application-level protocols that work on a different scale, but rely on the Internet Protocol. For example, HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol, which fetches documents and other content on a network), which allows a browser to do it's job, or FTP (File Transfer Protocol) which tells a program to communicate raw data across a network. HTTP and FTP for example, both rely on IP to work.

I'm probably getting off base at this point, but that's the gist of things.

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