What is Domain Name System? Functionality simply explained

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The Domain Name System (DNS) is an essential part of the Internet, without which our daily activities on the Web would not be possible. It allows us to access websites using easy-to-remember domain names, instead of having to remember the complex IP addresses that are actually the identifying numbers.

How does the Domain Name System work?

The Domain Name System is essentially a gigantic database that contains the mapping of domains to their corresponding IP addresses. When you type a website into your web browser, your computer sends a request to this URL to the DNS server.

The DNS server consists of several types of servers that all work together to provide efficient and accurate resolution. The main components of DNS are:

Resolver: the upstream DNS server provided by your Internet service provider (ISP) that answers DNS queries for you.
Root Server: these servers are at the top of the DNS hierarchy and contain specific information about TLDs (Top Level Domains) such as .com, .org, .de, etc.
Top level Domain server: this server defends the responsibility for the respective top level domains like .com, .org, .de etc.
Authoritative Nameserver: The Authoritative Nameserver pull the information from their DNS zones, which are responsible for specific domains such as.de.

The DNS resolver first checks its cache to determine if it already has the response to the query in memory. If not, it sends the query on to a root server. It then gets further information from the root servers in order to send the next Nameserver to find the right person for the corresponding TLD (such as .com or .de) is responsible.

Subsequently, the forwarding takes place up to the Authoritative Nameserverwhich then returns the correct IP address for the requested domain. The resolver stores the IP address in its cache for a certain time in order to provide the answer faster for future DNS requests.

Why is the Domain Name System important?

The Domain Name System is crucial because it allows users to access websites effortlessly without having to remember IP addresses. Imagine if you had to remember the exact IP address of every website you want to access - that would be quite a difficult task!

In addition, the DNS enables the functioning of several services on the Internet, such as e-mail. The DNS helps identify the correct mail server based on the email domain and also helps fight spam and phishing, since it can verify information about the sender of the email.

Another important aspect of the Domain Name System is the possibility of DNS restriction control. This means that website operators can restrict access to their content based on the user's location. This allows personalized content based on geographic or related criteria.

Summary

The Domain Name System is an important technological component of the Internet that is essential for easy use of websites. It allows us to use web addresses instead of complex IP addresses and make content and services more accessible. Although the DNS seems complex, it is basically a system of servers that communicate with each other and exchange information to make our access to the Internet work.

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FAQ

What is the Domain Name System (DNS)?

Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed network used to associate IP addresses with domain names and facilitate communication on the Internet.

What is the function of the Domain Name System?

DNS acts as the Internet's phone book by allowing users to convert a domain name into a numeric IP address that can be used by network devices.

How does the DNS work?

DNS system consists of a hierarchy of servers, each of which holds a certain amount of information. When a user enters a domain name, his computer asks a DNS server to retrieve the corresponding IP address.

What is a DNS zone?

DNS zone is a part of the Domain Name System responsible for a particular domain. Each zone contains information about the DNS records (such as IP addresses) for the subdomains of that domain.

How are subdomains specified in DNS?

domains are specified as a hierarchical structure by appending them to the original domain name, each separated by periods. For example, the blog subdomain for the example.com domain is specified as blog.example.com.

What are the types of DNS records?

there are several types of DNS records, including A records (pointing to IPv4 addresses), AAAA records (pointing to IPv6 addresses), CNAME records (alias for another domain), MX records (describing the mail server for a domain), and many more.

What are DNS caches?

-Caches are caches used by DNS servers to speed up the resolution of domain names. DNS servers store the searched addresses for a certain time so that they do not have to be retrieved again for repeated queries.

What is a name server?

Nameserver is a server responsible for providing information about the DNS. It connects users to the correct IP addresses by processing DNS queries.

What is a Name Resolution Protocol (NRP)?

Resolution Protocol is a protocol used to enable resolution of domain names. DNS is the most commonly used NRP on the Internet.

What influence does the DNS have on the Internet speed?

DNS can improve Internet speed by providing efficient DNS resolution. If the DNS server is overloaded or slow, it can cause delays in loading web pages or other online activities.

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Niels Stuck

Niels Stuck has 10 years of SEO experience and is the founder of the SEO agency "WOLF OF SEO". He gained practical experience by building 20+ affiliate sites alongside his marketing studies. Finally, he wrote his bachelor thesis about the influence of SEO on Google rankings, traffic and sales development in the form of a case study. Today, he specializes in e-commerce SEO and helps more than 80 companies build a sustainable organic revenue channel through SEO. Niels advises startups, established brands and corporations in search engine optimization of their online stores and primarily focuses on data-based content strategies and link building. He shares his knowledge about SEO and online marketing in this blog, as a speaker at conferences, in podcasts and as a guest author for OMT, Forbes, Starting Up and many more platforms.

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