DNS

DNS, or Domain Name System, is a hierarchical and decentralized naming system used to translate human-readable domain names (e.g., www.example.com) into IP addresses (e.g., 192.0.2.1) that computers use to identify each other on the network. Key features include:

1. Name Resolution: DNS converts domain names into IP addresses, enabling users to access websites using easy-to-remember names instead of numerical IP addresses.
2. Hierarchy: The DNS system is organized in a hierarchical structure, starting from the root level, followed by top-level domains (TLDs) like .com, .org, and .net, and then second-level domains and subdomains.
3. Distributed Database: DNS is a distributed database, meaning no single server holds all the data. Instead, data is distributed across many servers globally, improving redundancy and reliability.
4. DNS Servers: There are various types of DNS servers, including recursive resolvers, root name servers, TLD name servers, and authoritative name servers, each playing a specific role in the domain name resolution process.
5. Caching: DNS servers and clients cache DNS query results to improve performance and reduce latency by avoiding repeated lookups for the same domain name.
6. Records: DNS uses various types of records to store different kinds of data, such as A records (address records), MX records (mail exchange records), CNAME records (canonical name records), and TXT records (text records).

DNS is a fundamental component of the internet infrastructure, ensuring users can access websites and services using easily recognizable domain names instead of numeric IP addresses.