diff --git a/htroot/WebStructurePicture_p.java b/htroot/WebStructurePicture_p.java
index 12bf1affa..b9f2a82a9 100644
--- a/htroot/WebStructurePicture_p.java
+++ b/htroot/WebStructurePicture_p.java
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 
-import net.yacy.cora.document.encoding.ASCII;
 import net.yacy.cora.document.id.DigestURL;
 import net.yacy.cora.order.Base64Order;
 import net.yacy.cora.protocol.RequestHeader;
@@ -117,7 +116,7 @@ public class WebStructurePicture_p {
                 String host = hostlist[i];
                 String hash = null;
                 try {
-                    hash = ASCII.String((new DigestURL("http://" + host)).hash(), 6, 6);
+                    hash = new DigestURL("http://" + host).hosthash();
                 } catch (final MalformedURLException e) {
                     continue;
                 }
diff --git a/source/net/yacy/cora/document/id/DigestURL.java b/source/net/yacy/cora/document/id/DigestURL.java
index 31efcaad3..6b5f60d3b 100644
--- a/source/net/yacy/cora/document/id/DigestURL.java
+++ b/source/net/yacy/cora/document/id/DigestURL.java
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ public class DigestURL extends MultiProtocolURL implements Serializable {
             else h = "http://" + h;
         }
         DigestURL url = new DigestURL(h);
-        return (url == null) ? null : ASCII.String(url.hash(), 6, 6);
+        return (url == null) ? null : url.hosthash();
     }
 
     /**
@@ -209,8 +209,13 @@ public class DigestURL extends MultiProtocolURL implements Serializable {
         return this.hash;
     }
 
+    /**
+     * <p>Extract a fragment of the url hash that can be used as a hash for the host name part of this url.</p>
+     * <p><strong>WARNING : two URLs with the same host name but different protocols or ports will produce two different host hashes with this method!</strong></p> 
+     * @return a 6-byte hash fragment
+     */
     public String hosthash() {
-        return ASCII.String(this.hash(), 6, 6);
+    	return ASCII.String(this.hash(), 6, 6);
     }
     
     /**
@@ -333,10 +338,15 @@ public class DigestURL extends MultiProtocolURL implements Serializable {
         return hash.toString();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Compute a 6-byte hash fragment that can be used to identify the domain name of an url.
+     * @param host host name. Must not be null.
+     * @return 6 bytes base64 encoded String
+     */
     public static final String hosthash6(final String host) {
         return hosthash6("http", host, 80);
     }
-
+    
     //private static String[] testTLDs = new String[] { "com", "net", "org", "uk", "fr", "de", "es", "it" };
 
     public static final int domLengthEstimation(final byte[] urlHashBytes) {
diff --git a/source/net/yacy/crawler/CrawlStacker.java b/source/net/yacy/crawler/CrawlStacker.java
index 8ae52a48f..5b66958ba 100644
--- a/source/net/yacy/crawler/CrawlStacker.java
+++ b/source/net/yacy/crawler/CrawlStacker.java
@@ -200,9 +200,7 @@ public final class CrawlStacker {
             Set<String> hosthashes = new HashSet<String>();
             for (final AnchorURL url: hyperlinks) {
                 if (url == null) continue;
-                final byte[] urlhash = url.hash();
-                byte[] hosthash = new byte[6]; System.arraycopy(urlhash, 6, hosthash, 0, 6);
-                hosthashes.add(ASCII.String(hosthash));
+                hosthashes.add(url.hosthash());
             }
             this.nextQueue.errorURL.removeHosts(hosthashes);
         }
diff --git a/source/net/yacy/kelondro/data/meta/URIMetadataNode.java b/source/net/yacy/kelondro/data/meta/URIMetadataNode.java
index 5dea4f9b4..5ca31c85a 100644
--- a/source/net/yacy/kelondro/data/meta/URIMetadataNode.java
+++ b/source/net/yacy/kelondro/data/meta/URIMetadataNode.java
@@ -245,7 +245,7 @@ public class URIMetadataNode extends SolrDocument /* implements Comparable<URIMe
 
     public String hosthash() {
         String hosthash = (String) this.getFieldValue(CollectionSchema.host_id_s.getSolrFieldName());
-        if (hosthash == null) hosthash = ASCII.String(this.url.hash(), 6, 6);
+        if (hosthash == null) hosthash = this.url.hosthash();
         return hosthash;
     }
 
diff --git a/source/net/yacy/peers/graphics/WebStructureGraph.java b/source/net/yacy/peers/graphics/WebStructureGraph.java
index 28a335842..c2004b6d8 100644
--- a/source/net/yacy/peers/graphics/WebStructureGraph.java
+++ b/source/net/yacy/peers/graphics/WebStructureGraph.java
@@ -619,14 +619,14 @@ public class WebStructureGraph {
 
     protected void learnrefs(final LearnObject lro) {
         final DigestURL url = lro.url;
-        final String sourceHosthash = ASCII.String(url.hash(), 6, 6);
+        final String sourceHosthash = url.hosthash();
 
         // parse the new reference string and join it with the stored references
         final StructureEntry structure = outgoingReferences(sourceHosthash);
         final Map<String, Integer> refs = (structure == null) ? new HashMap<String, Integer>() : structure.references;
         int c;
         for (final DigestURL u : lro.globalRefURLs) {
-        	String domain = ASCII.String(u.hash(), 6, 6);
+        	String domain = u.hosthash();
         	if (Switchboard.getSwitchboard() != null && Switchboard.getSwitchboard().shallTerminate()) break;
             if (!exists(domain)) {
                 // this must be recorded as an host with no references
diff --git a/source/net/yacy/search/Switchboard.java b/source/net/yacy/search/Switchboard.java
index 38edaa3e0..1265086f2 100644
--- a/source/net/yacy/search/Switchboard.java
+++ b/source/net/yacy/search/Switchboard.java
@@ -3242,9 +3242,8 @@ public final class Switchboard extends serverSwitch {
         }
         
         // remove the document from the error-db
-        byte[] hosthash = new byte[6]; System.arraycopy(urlhash, 6, hosthash, 0, 6);
         Set<String> hosthashes = new HashSet<String>();
-        hosthashes.add(ASCII.String(hosthash));
+        hosthashes.add(url.hosthash());
         this.crawlQueues.errorURL.removeHosts(hosthashes);
         this.index.fulltext().remove(urlhash);
 
diff --git a/test/java/net/yacy/cora/document/id/DigestURLTest.java b/test/java/net/yacy/cora/document/id/DigestURLTest.java
index 7756376f9..5557fa76b 100644
--- a/test/java/net/yacy/cora/document/id/DigestURLTest.java
+++ b/test/java/net/yacy/cora/document/id/DigestURLTest.java
@@ -3,8 +3,11 @@ package net.yacy.cora.document.id;
 import java.net.MalformedURLException;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Set;
+
 import junit.framework.TestCase;
 import net.yacy.cora.document.encoding.ASCII;
+
+import org.junit.Assert;
 import org.junit.Test;
 
 public class DigestURLTest extends TestCase {
@@ -32,6 +35,27 @@ public class DigestURLTest extends TestCase {
 
         }
     }
+    
+    /**
+     * Test for {@link DigestURL#hosthash()}
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testHostHash() throws MalformedURLException {
+    	/* Shortest example valid http url : protocol + domain name*/
+    	String hostHash = new DigestURL("http://example.test").hosthash();
+    	
+    	Assert.assertEquals("With path", hostHash, new DigestURL("http://example.test/path/").hosthash());
+    	Assert.assertEquals("With resource", hostHash, new DigestURL("http://example.test/path/").hosthash());
+    	Assert.assertEquals("With query parameters", hostHash, new DigestURL("http://example.test/path/").hosthash());
+    	Assert.assertEquals("Document with anchor identifier", hostHash, new DigestURL("http://example.test/path/").hosthash());
+    	
+    	/* The next two asserts would be debatable but reflect the current implementation */
+    	Assert.assertNotEquals("Different protocol", hostHash, new DigestURL("https://example.test").hosthash());
+    	Assert.assertNotEquals("Different port", hostHash, new DigestURL("http://example.test:8080").hosthash());
+    	
+    	Assert.assertNotEquals("With a different TLD", hostHash, new DigestURL("http://example.net").hosthash());
+    	
+    }
 
     /**
      * Test hash() of DigestURL and File protocol to deliver same hash for