What is DNS?

Domain Name System (DNS) is a database system that translates a computer's fully qualified domain name into an IP address.

Networked computers use IP addresses to locate and connect to each other, but IP addresses can be difficult for people to remember. For example, on the web, it's much easier to remember the domain name www.ebay.com than it is to remember its corresponding IP address (207.171.106.28). DNS allows you to connect to another networked computer or remote service by using its user-friendly domain name rather than its numerical IP address. Conversely, Reverse DNS (rDNS) translates an IP address into a domain name.

 

  • 69 Users Found This Useful
Was this answer helpful?

Related Articles

What is propagation?

Domain Propagation is the period of time, or delay, involved in sending your domain’s address...

How can I check to see if DNS is working?

A frequent mistake is to use "ping" to test DNS. On Windows NT/2K and Unix, there are tools...

What is an "A" record?

An "A" record, also called an "address" record, ties a domain name to an IP address. If there is...

What is an "MX" record?

MX" ("Mail eXchanger") records are used to specify what server on the Internet is running e-mail...

What is a "CNAME" record?

CNAME" records, short for "Canonical Name", create an alias from a domain name to another. You...