DNS

DNS (Domain Name System) is a hierarchical system that translates human-readable domain names (e.g., example.com) into IP addresses (e.g., 192.168.1.1) that computers use to identify each other on a network. It functions as the "phonebook" of the internet, enabling users to access websites and services without memorizing numerical addresses.

Also known as: Domain Name Service

Comparisons

DNS vs. IP Address: DNS provides a readable name for an IP address, making it easier for users to navigate the internet.

DNS vs. DHCP: DNS resolves domain names to IPs, while DHCP dynamically assigns IP addresses to devices in a network.

Pros

  • Simplifies web navigation by allowing domain names instead of numeric IPs.
  • Improves accessibility and scalability for internet services.
  • Supports redundancy and load balancing through distributed DNS servers.

Cons

  • DNS outages can make websites unreachable.
  • DNS caching can cause delays in updates to domain records.
  • Vulnerable to attacks like DNS spoofing and DDoS attacks.

Example

A developer configures a DNS query to resolve a domain name to its IP address using Python:


import socket
# Resolve domain name to IP
domain = "example.com"
ip_address = socket.gethostbyname(domain)
print(f"The IP address of {domain} is {ip_address}")

In this example, the socket library is used to resolve example.com to its corresponding IP address, demonstrating how DNS works behind the scenes to map domain names to machine-readable identifiers.

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