What is DNS? How does Domain Name System work? Why is it called the Modern Telephone Directory?

Before mobile phones were invented, we used landline phones. As we were not able to store any contacts in those phones, we used to have a large Telephone Directory that contains all customers’ names & phone numbers.

What is DNS (Full Form): DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS works on a similar concept. But, instead of phone numbers, it stores all the web addresses.

Every Website has a unique IP Address. You can simply enter the IP Address of that website to access it. However, it is not possible to remember all the IP Addresses of all the Websites.

For Example, in our phonebook, we used to have Contact Names and Numbers. We usually search for a contact by his/her name, because remembering the number would be difficult.

Similarly, the DNS saves all website names and addresses on the internet. When you enter the website Name, it will take you to the right address (webpage).

So, we use DNS. Using DNS is not a manual process. Our web browsers do it for us.

How DNS Work? The computer does not understand human language. Therefore, when we type the website name in the URL bar, the browser converts it into an IP address using Domain Name Server (DNS).

When you type YouTube.com, AllTechQueries.com, or other websites in the URL bar, your browsers will search for its IP Address in the DNS Server and open the website.

Types of DNS Servers: Servers are computers that store various data. And, the servers that store the IP addresses of various websites are called DNS Servers. There are four types of DNS Servers.

Types of DNS Servers: · DNS Recursive Resolver · Root Name Server · Top-Level Domain (TLD Name Server) · Authoritative Name Server

Is DNS Necessary? You can simply enter a Website's IP Address in the URL bar, without utilizing DNS. However, most users on the Internet use Static IP Address (That changes frequently).

Therefore, we require a DNS Server which holds the latest IP Addresses of the websites. Besides that, it is also hard to remember all those IP Addresses.

So, basically, DNS is the address book on the internet, which allows users to browse websites by typing their names. However, if you know the Dedicated IP Address of the website, you don’t require DNS.