Verisign manages the domain name registries for .com and .net. In this role, it operates the authoritative registry databases and core registration infrastructure for those top-level domains.
A registry is different from a registrar. Verisign maintains the central registry, while accredited registrars such as GoDaddy and Network Solutions provide domain registration services directly to customers and communicate with the registry. A domain owner may therefore buy a .com name through a registrar even though Verisign operates the underlying registry.
ICANN is commonly confused with Verisign because ICANN coordinates and oversees important parts of the global domain-name system. ICANN has agreements with registry operators and accredits registrars, but it does not itself operate the .com or .net registry. Verisign’s registry services include maintaining registration data and publishing the DNS information that allows browsers and other systems to locate domains.
The .com domain was created in 1985, and .net was also among the original generic top-level domains. Their enormous scale makes the registry operator a particularly important part of the Internet’s infrastructure.