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Computers
Hints, Tips And Tricks
DNS Explained
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To your computer, everything is a number. After all, computers are much better at processing numbers than anything else. Unfortunately, we aren't quite as good at numbers and we prefer words. When it comes to website addresses, DNS helps bridge that gap.
Every computer on the internet has a unique number, called an IP (Internet Protocol) address. When you visit a website, you are connecting to the IP address of the website’s server and you are receiving information from that website's server through that connection. In order to request a web page, you need to know the IP address of the website's server. More specifically, your computer needs to know the IP address so that it will know what website you want to connect with. DNS to the rescue!
DNS stands for Domain Name Server and is a collection of servers that act like a phone book, storing an extraordinarily long list of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. When you type "www.xyz.com" for example into your web browser, it connects first to your Internet Service Provider's DNS server and asks it for the IP address that corresponds to the domain name "xyz.com". If everything goes well, the DNS server replies with say 49.93.56.167, and your web browser will then communicate with the xyz web servers and you will be able to exchange information.
If you were to call your long lost friend, you would take out your phone book (DNS) and look up their name (xyz.com) to find the associated number (49.93.56.167). When you call the number, you are connected through to their house (server), where you finally talk to your friend (exchange information).
A phone book is updated yearly, while a DNS server is updated every 24-72 hours and this is why there is a wait period of 72 hours before your domain name will start pointing to the website that you are pointing it to.
Source: Jamie Macy.
11-04-2004