What is DNS?

What is DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. It is a decentralized naming system used on the internet to translate human-readable domain names into IP addresses. In simpler terms, DNS is like a phonebook of the internet. When you enter a website's domain name in your web browser, such as "example.com," the DNS system translates that domain name into the corresponding IP address, such as "192.0.2.1," which is the actual numerical address used by computers to communicate with each other over the internet.

DNS plays a crucial role in the functioning of the internet because it allows users to access websites and other internet resources using easily memorable domain names instead of having to remember the specific IP addresses associated with those resources. Without DNS, we would have to remember complex sequences of numbers for every website we want to visit.

The DNS system is hierarchical, with multiple levels of servers involved in the process of resolving domain names. When you enter a domain name, your computer first checks its local DNS cache to see if it has the corresponding IP address stored. If not, it queries a recursive resolver (usually provided by your Internet Service Provider) that contacts other DNS servers in a chain until it finds the authoritative DNS server for the requested domain. The authoritative server provides the final IP address, which is then returned to your computer, allowing it to establish a connection with the desired website or resource.

Overall, DNS is a fundamental technology that enables the smooth functioning of the internet by translating human-friendly domain names into machine-readable IP addresses.