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Understanding the DNS – Domain Name System
When you dive into the online universe, one question might arise: “What is a DNS – Domain Name System?” Understanding this term can make your internet experience smoother in today’s digital age. Let’s delve into it.
What is a DNS?
The DNS acts as the internet’s phonebook. It changes friendly domain names you know, such as www.mywebsite.com, into numerical IP addresses (e.g., 123.456.7.89) that computers use to identify each other.
The Analogy of a House
Suppose you start a website for your new startup. You secure a catchy domain, say, “www.mystartup.com.” The users should be able to connect to your website; the domain should point them to where you’ve stored your site data – the ‘web hosting server.’
To understand this better, think of your domain name as the address of a house and the web hosting server as the actual house itself. Within this analogy, “What is a DNS – Domain Name System?” It’s similar to the navigation system that helps your guests (website visitors) find your house (website) using your address (domain name).
The Process of Domain Name System Simplified
1. A user enters your domain name, “www.mybusiness.com,” into their web browser.
2. Their device then asks the DNS – Domain Name System server to find the associated IP address for that domain.
3. The DNS server responds by providing the correct IP address.
4. The device sends a request to that IP address, which is your web hosting server.
5. The server responds by delivering your website’s files, and the person’s browser displays your website.
Note: Web hosting can give you a middle-level DNS address by itself, like “nameserver.thehostingservice.com,” instead of the actual IP address of the server. This nameserver is for easier internal IP address management by the service itself and probably some other features.
Read More
To know more, read What is a Domain Name System by CloudFlare and What is a DNS in Amazon Docs.
Conclusion
Returning to our primary question, ” What is a DNS – Domain Name System?” think of it as the essential middleman linking domain names with web hosting servers. This system lets us use memorable names over complex numeric addresses.
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