{"id":46,"date":"2024-01-23T11:32:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-23T11:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/?p=46"},"modified":"2024-01-30T11:18:30","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T11:18:30","slug":"what-is-dns-how-dns-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/what-is-dns-how-dns-works\/","title":{"rendered":"What is DNS? | How DNS works"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fincohost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/dns.jpg\" alt=\"What is DNS? | How DNS works\" width=\"450\" height=\"361\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>What is DNS? | How DNS works<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><strong>DNS (Domain Name System)<\/strong> is a hierarchical and distributed naming system that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses.<\/h2>\n<p>It acts as a decentralized phonebook for the internet, allowing users to access websites, send emails, and perform other network-related activities using familiar domain names.<\/p>\n<h2>How DNS Works:<\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>User Enters a URL:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>When a user enters a URL (e.g., <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/\">www.example.com<\/a>) into a web browser, the browser needs to find the corresponding IP address to connect to the server hosting that website.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Local DNS Resolution:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The local device checks its cache (local DNS cache) to see if it already has the IP address for the requested domain. If found, the process skips the next steps.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Recursive DNS Server:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>If the IP address is not in the local cache, the device queries a Recursive DNS Server (also known as a resolver). The recursive server is responsible for finding the IP address by traversing the DNS hierarchy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Root DNS Servers:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>If the recursive server doesn&#8217;t have the IP address, it starts the DNS resolution process from the root DNS servers. These servers are authoritative for the top-level domains (TLDs) like .com, .net, .org.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>TLD DNS Servers:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The root DNS server directs the recursive server to the TLD DNS server responsible for the specific top-level domain (e.g., .com). The TLD server, in turn, directs the resolver to the authoritative DNS server for the second-level domain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Authoritative DNS Server:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The authoritative DNS server holds the information about the IP address of the requested domain. It responds to the recursive server with the correct IP address.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Response to the User:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The recursive server caches the IP address and sends it back to the user&#8217;s device. The device also caches the IP address for future use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><strong>Establish Connection:<\/strong><\/strong>With the IP address, the user&#8217;s device can establish a connection to the server hosting the requested website or service.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.hswstatic.com\/gif\/dns-5.jpg\" alt=\"How DNS works\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">How DNS works<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How DNS works &#8211; <\/strong>Key Components of DNS:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>DNS Resolver:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Software or service on a user&#8217;s device or network that initiates DNS queries and caches the results.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Root DNS Servers:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Thirteen authoritative servers at the top of the DNS hierarchy. They direct queries to the appropriate TLD DNS servers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>TLD DNS Servers:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Servers responsible for specific top-level domains (e.g., .com, .org). They direct queries to the authoritative DNS servers for the second-level domains.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Authoritative DNS Servers:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Servers that store and provide DNS information for a specific domain. They respond to queries with the IP addresses associated with domain names.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>DNS Records:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A Record (Address Record):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Maps a domain to its corresponding IPv4 address.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>AAAA Record:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Maps a domain to its corresponding IPv6 address.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>CNAME Record (Canonical Name):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Alias of one domain to another.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>MX Record (Mail Exchange):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Specifies mail servers responsible for receiving emails for a domain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>TXT Record (Text):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Contains arbitrary text, often used for DNS verification and authentication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>PTR Record (Pointer):<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Used for reverse DNS lookups to map an IP address to a domain.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"learning-content-h2\"><strong>How DNS works &#8211; <\/strong>What are the steps in a DNS lookup?<\/h2>\n<p>For most situations, DNS is concerned with a domain name being translated into the appropriate IP address. To learn how this process works, it helps to follow the path of a DNS lookup as it travels from a web browser, through the DNS lookup process, and back again. Let&#8217;s take a look at the steps.<\/p>\n<p>Note: Often DNS lookup information will be cached either locally inside the querying computer or remotely in the DNS infrastructure. There are typically 8 steps in a DNS lookup. When DNS information is cached, steps are skipped from the DNS lookup process which makes it quicker. The example below outlines all 8 steps when nothing is cached.<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"learning-content-h4\"><strong>How DNS works &#8211; <\/strong>The 8 steps in a DNS lookup:<\/h4>\n<ol class=\"learning-list\">\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol class=\"learning-list\">\n<li>A user types \u2018example.com\u2019 into a web browser and the query travels into the Internet and is received by a DNS recursive resolver.<\/li>\n<li>The resolver then queries a DNS root nameserver (.).<\/li>\n<li>The root server then responds to the resolver with the address of a Top Level Domain (TLD) DNS server (such as .com or .net), which stores the information for its domains. When searching for example.com, our request is pointed toward the .com TLD.<\/li>\n<li>The resolver then makes a request to the .com TLD.<\/li>\n<li>The TLD server then responds with the IP address of the domain\u2019s nameserver, example.com.<\/li>\n<li>Lastly, the recursive resolver sends a query to the domain\u2019s nameserver.<\/li>\n<li>The IP address for example.com is then returned to the resolver from the nameserver.<\/li>\n<li>The DNS resolver then responds to the web browser with the IP address of the domain requested initially.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Once the 8 steps of the DNS lookup have returned the IP address for example.com, the browser is able to make the request for the web page:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"learning-list\">\n<li>The browser makes a\u00a0HTTP\u00a0request to the IP address.<\/li>\n<li>The server at that IP returns the webpage to be rendered in the browser (step 10).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In summary, <strong>How DNS works<\/strong> is a critical component of the internet infrastructure, translating human-readable domain names into machine-readable IP addresses, enabling seamless communication and access to online <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squarebrothers.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DNS (Domain Name System) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses. It acts as a decentralized phonebook for the internet, allowing users to access websites, send emails, and perform other network-related activities using familiar domain names. How DNS Works: User Enters a URL: When a user enters<a class=\"sup-readmore\" href=\"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/what-is-dns-how-dns-works\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-word-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51,"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions\/51"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpresswebhosting.in\/tutorials\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}