The Domain Name System (DNS) plays a crucial role in connecting users to websites on the internet. It translates human-friendly domain names into IP addresses that machines can understand and use. This process is known as DNS resolution.
Here’s a simplified explanation of how DNS works:
- User Input: The user enters a domain name (like www.example.com) into their web browser.
- DNS Query: The browser sends a DNS query to a DNS resolver, which is typically managed by the user’s Internet Service Provider (ISP).
- DNS Resolution: The DNS resolver forwards the request to a DNS root name server. The root server redirects the request to a Top-Level Domain (TLD) name server (like .com or .net). The TLD server then forwards the request to an Authoritative Name Server, which holds the final IP address for the requested domain name.
- Returning the IP Address: The Authoritative Name Server returns the IP address for the domain name to the DNS resolver. The resolver then returns this IP address to the browser.
- Loading the Website: The browser uses the returned IP address to connect to the server hosting the website. The server sends back the website’s data, which is displayed in the browser.
DNS also employs caching to speed up the process. When a user requests a website, the DNS server stores the IP address associated with the domain name. This allows the server to respond more quickly to future requests for the same domain name