DNS

DNS, network service that converts between World Wide Web “name” addresses and numeric Internet addresses.

The concept of a name server came about as a result of the first computer networks in the mid-1970s. Each computer on a network was identified by a unique number, but, as the size of computer networks grew, users had a hard time keeping track of which machine corresponded to each number. To keep track, researchers developed a database that translated each computer’s numeric address into a domain name, which is a string of letters and numbers that is generally easier for users to remember than numeric addresses.

Modern DNS servers work in a similar fashion, with a set of databases running on servers scattered around the Internet. DNS servers use a hierarchical structure to organize domain names. There are two basic types of DNS servers: primary, which contain the databases, and secondary, which provide redundancy for the primary servers. The basic form of this structure is the name of a machine, followed by a top level domain (TLD), separated by dots (periods). For example, britannica.com has the domain name “britannica” and the TLD “com.” The most common type of TLD is a generic one such as “com,” “gov,” or “edu,” though there are also country code TLDs, such as “uk,” “ca,” or “au,” and sponsored TLDs, such as travel or jobs. Domain and TLD names are registered and controlled by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN).

DNS, which operates on top of the transmission control protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP) architecture, is likely to continue for the foreseeable future as the standard for accessing Internet sites.