DNS

DNS stands for Domain Name Server. The DNS resolves domain names to IP Addresses.

Eg. 194.19.10.27 = mywebsite.com

DNS acts like a phonebook for websites. Instead of typing IP addresses into the browser to visit the site, we use the friendly domain name. However, machines still use the IP to communicate.

How does my browser know where to find a website ?

  1. Your browser checks it's local cache to determine if it has stored the known location of the requested host.

  2. If the host does not exist in cache, the request goes to the Recursive DNS Servers provided most likely by your ISP.

  3. If the host does not exist in the Recursive DNS Servers, the request then goes to the Root DNS Server to determine where the Top Level DNS Server is.

  4. We finally get the location from the Top Level DNS Server for the .com Top Level Domain.

  5. The Top Level DNS Server gives us the address of the Authoritative Name Servers who handles the domain name. This gives us the final record to where the host is.

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