Supportsoft Glossary

Mapping Domain Names to Servers

The Internet Domain Name System (DNS) is a system that maps human-friendly domain names like www.example.com to machine-readable IP addresses like 192.25.50.17. When you enter a web address in your browser, DNS helps to find the server hosting that website and allows you to connect to that server.

DNS consists of multiple layers of servers, all interconnected and able to answer queries in under a second or two. The heights of these layers can be thought of as root servers, top-level domain (TLD) servers, and authoritative name servers; each of these servers has a different responsibility in answering your query. In addition to resolving queries, DNS also caches previous lookups for future requests, allowing DNS to answer faster.

As the gatekeeper to how internet users send traffic to their domain, DNS directly impacts website performance and the site's ability to perform reliably and securely. If DNS is not configured properly, it could suffer from downtime and possible routeing issues, as well as expose the site to cyberattacks through spoofing or hijacking attempts. Because of this potential for misconfiguration, many businesses choose to work with a managed DNS provider that employs safety measures like DNSSEC, redundancy, and failover routeing.

Ultimately, DNS is responsible for directing every website visit, email message, and online transaction to its proper destination on the Internet. Without DNS, it would be difficult for anyone to access the Internet due to complicated instructions.