INTERNET HOSTING SYSTEM

A method and apparatus for providing domain name services includes a multi-threaded name server which concurrently handles multiple domain name resolution requests and is particulary well suited for an Internet host system controlling information relating to a very large number of domain names. A database coherency thread continuously refreshes a host name cache that is utilized by the multi-threaded name server. The multi-threaded name server may comprise a request dispatcher thread capable of spawning multiple child threads, resulting in a multi-threaded, non-blocking name server. One or more additional network services are also provided by the system, preferably through a common, centralized database. For example, in one embodiment, electronic message forwarding services are provided. In another embodiment, web services are provided wherein hypertext markup language (HTML) pages are dynamically generated from data in the database corresponding to the requested host name.