In January 2002, Microsoft Corporation published a download named the IBuySpy Portal to demonstrate how to implement specific functionality on the new ASP.NET 1.0 platform. The kits, which provided full source code under a liberal EULA, were functional, but very simplistic, and were intended to aid programmers in developing projects of their own. Salar Golestanian the founder of SalarO was then developing content managed sites for his clients using Ibuy Spy and had number of larger commercial projects on that platform.
On December 24th, 2002, Shaun Walker, a DNN Corp. Founder, released a modified version of the original IBuySpy portal application. The release, which was posted as a link on the Microsoft ASP.NET Forums, included a variety of enhancements and innovations over the original code, including the ability to support multiple portals from a single installation, a feature which became very popular in the shared web hosting market. This was a land mark which allowed much more flaxibility to iBuySpy project.
In the weeks following Walker’s release, thousands of developers from around the world downloaded the code, provided feedback, and created the foundation for an active and loyal development community.
After a number of rapid releases, the application was renamed DotNetNuke on February 28, 2003. The DotNetNuke name was chosen to reflect the application’s roots in the .NET Framework, coupled with the term “nuke,” due to its industry-wide association with open source web content management systems. Salar Golestanian with Shaun Walker's approval purchased dotnetnuke.co.uk and has proactively maintained and promoted the platform here in UK.