What Is A Domain Name System

1
What is a Domain Name System?

A “Domain Name System” or “Domain Name Service” is a computer network protocol
whose job is to map a user friendly domain name such as “google.com” to its
corresponding IP address like “8.8.8.8″.
Every computer on the Internet, be it a web server, home computer or any other
network device has a unique IP address allotted to it. This IP address is used to
establish connections between the server and the client in order to initiate the
transfer of data. Whether you are trying to access a website or sending an email, the
DNS plays a very important role here.
For example, when you type “www.google.com” on your browser’s address bar, your
computer will make use of the DNS server to fetch the IP address of Google’s server
that is “8.8.8.8″. After obtaining the IP address, your computer will then establish a
connection with the server only after which you see the Google’s home page loading
on your browser. The whole process is called DNS Resolution.
With millions of websites on the Internet, it is impossible for people to remember the
IP address of every website in order to access it. Therefore, the concept of domain
name was introduced so that every website can be identified by its unique name
which makes it easy for people to remember. However, the IP address is still used as
the base for internal communication by network devices. This is where the DNS
www.class.slwebcreations.com | info@class.slwebcreations.com
2
comes in to action that works by resolving the user friendly domain name to its
corresponding machine friendly IP address.
In simple words, domain names are for humans while IP addresses are for network
devices. The “Domain Name System” is a protocol to establish a link between the
two. Hence, it is not a surprise that you can even load a website by directly typing its
IP address instead of the domain name in the browser’s address bar (give it a try)!
Types of DNS Servers and their Role:

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed database that resides on multiple
computers on the Internet in a hierarchical manner. They include the following types:
Root Name Servers:
The root servers represent the top level of the DNS hierarchy. These are the DNS
servers that contain the complete database of domain names and their
corresponding IP addresses. Currently, there are 13 root servers distributed globally
which are named using the letters A, B, C and so on up to M.
Local Name Servers:
Local servers represent the lower level DNS servers that are owned and maintained
by many business organizations and Internet Service providers (ISPs). These local
servers are able to resolve frequently used domain names into their corresponding IP
addresses by caching the recent information. This cache is updated and refreshed on
a regular basis.
How DNS Server Works?

Whenever you type a URL such as “http://google.com” on your browser’s address
bar, your computer will send a request to the local name server to resolve the
domain name into its corresponding IP address. This request is often referred to as a
DNS query. The local name server will receive the query to find out whether it
contains the matching name and IP address in its database. If found, the
corresponding IP address (response) is returned. If not, the query is automatically
passed on to another server that is in the next higher level of DNS hierarchy. This
process continues until the query reaches the server that contains the matching
name and IP address. The IP address (response) then flows back the chain in the
reverse order to your computer.
3
In rare cases where none of the lower level DNS servers contain the record for a
given domain name, the DNS query eventually reaches one of the root name server
to obtain the response.
FAQs about Domain Name System:
Here is a list of some of the FAQs about DNS:
How does a “root name server” obtain the information about new domains?
Whenever a new domain name is created or an existing one is updated, it is the

responsibility of the domain registrar to publish the details and register it with the
root name server. Only after this, the information can move down the DNS hierarchy
and get updated on the lower level DNS servers.
What is DNS propagation?
Whenever a new domain name is registered or an existing one is updated, the

information about the domain must get updated on all the major DNS servers so
that the domain can be reached from all parts of the globe. This is called DNS
propagation and the whole process can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to get
completed.
How often the DNS servers are updated to refresh the cache?
There is no specific rule that defines the rate at which DNS servers should be
updated. It usually depends on the organization such as the ISP that maintains the
server. Most DNS servers are updated on an hourly basis while some may update
their databases on a daily basis.
I hope you have now understood the working of DNS in a very convincing manner.
Pass your comments and share your opinion.

What Is A Domain Name System

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What Is A Domain Name System

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

What Is A Domain Name System

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

1

What is a Domain Name System?

Types of DNS Servers and their Role:

Root Name Servers:

Local Name Servers:

How DNS Server Works?

FAQs about Domain Name System:

Here is a list of some of the FAQs about DNS:

Whenever a new domain name is created or an existing one is updated, it is the

What is DNS propagation?

Whenever a new domain name is registered or an existing one is updated, the

You might also like