How Does DNS Work?
DNS has a distributed architecture. There is no “master” database which contains a list of all the hosts in the Internet. Instead, there is a master database of domains and nameservers. A domain is a section of the network. For instance, uchicago.edu is a domain and contains all the hosts here at the University of Chicago. Nameservers contain information about the hosts located in a given domain and also know how to get information on hosts that lie outside the domain. When a computer on the Internet needs to convert from a name to an IP address (or vice versa), it contacts it’s local nameserver which does the conversion (either by itself or by contacting another nameserver) and passes back the result.
DNS stands for Domain Name Server – Think of it as a phone book for the Internet. Imagine you want to call Masterpiece Solutions on the telephone. If you do not already know that our phone number is 303 225 0330, you would have to look it up some place… You might look at a phone book, on our web page, or on Yahoo Yellow Pages… But the important thing is, if you do not know our phone number, or have a way to find it, you simply cannot call us – right? Exactly the same thing is true with the Internet. Every computer, or web site, that is on the internet has a number. It may or may not have a name as well (most do, of course, have a name) Well, the Internet has a neat feature called DNS that helps translate names into numbers. So, if you want to get to MasterpieceSolutions.com – you really need to go to the IP ADDRESS 208.42.225.218. You could just go to that IP address directly – but more likely you type in the NAME www.masterpiecesolutions.com and this magic thing called DNS goes an
