DNS or Domain Name System is the backbone of the internet and one of the most important services it provides. It is used to match human-readable domain names (such as google.com) with their corresponding IP addresses (such as 172.217.21.110). When you type a domain name into your web browser, the browser sends a request to the DNS server to translate the name into an IP address. The DNS server then responds with the correct IP address so the browser can connect to the server hosting the website and display the requested page.
So how does DNS work?
The Domain Name System works like an Internet phonebook that contains a directory of all website domains and their associated IP addresses. When you type a website’s domain name into your web browser, the DNS servers responsible for that domain look up the IP address associated with the website and respond back with the correct information. The DNS server looks up this information in its database of DNS records, which contains different types of records that specify how each domain name should be handled.
The records most commonly used for domain name resolution are A (for IPv4) and AAAA (for IPv6) records. Other DNS types include CNAME records, which point to other domains, MX records for email delivery, and TXT records, which allow website owners to add custom text to the DNS record for verification purposes.
To ensure that requests are handled quickly and efficiently, DNS is configured as an hierarchical, distributed system. This means that DNS requests first go to the root name server, which then directs them to the appropriate Top Level Domain (TLD) name server, such as .com or .org. From there, the TLD name server directs the request to the specific name server responsible for that domain. If the requested domain is not found, the original request is sent back up the chain until it finds the correct name server.
Once the DNS request reaches the correct name server, the server retrieves the requested information and sends it back to the browser. This process usually takes less than a second, allowing you to get the information you need quickly.
DNS has become an essential part of the internet and is responsible for helping us access websites quickly and easily. Without DNS, users would have to type in long IP addresses instead of the much simpler domain names.
