What a DNS Server Is and How It Works
What a DNS Server Is and How It Works What is a DNS server ? Domain Name Server (s) (DNS) are the Internet’s equivalent of a phone book. They maintain a directory of domain names and translate them to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. A DNS server runs special-purpose networking software, features a public IP address, and contains a database of network names and addresses for other Internet hosts. Fig: DNS Server DNS Root Servers DNS servers communicate with each other using private network protocols. All DNS servers are organized in a hierarchy. At the top level of the hierarchy, so-called root servers store a complete database of Internet domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. The Internet employs 13 root servers that have become somewhat famous for their special role. Maintained by various independent agencies, the servers are aptly named A, B, C and so on up to M. Ten of these servers reside in the ...