Explore the World of DNS: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Utilize It

Exploring DNS and its usage

1. Understanding what DNS is?

DNS, short for Domain Name System, is a domain resolution system that allows establishing correspondence between IP addresses and domain names on the Internet.

Computers and various networking devices on the Internet use IP addresses to 'route' user requests to the websites they are trying to access. In a simplistic sense, it's akin to dialing a phone number to connect with the person you want to talk to.

Thanks to the helpful use of DNS, users don't need to memorize a list of their own IP addresses. Instead, they simply connect through the fastest DNS, Domain Name System or Name Servers, managing an extensive database mapping domain names to IP addresses.

Whether you're accessing a website or sending an email, your computer will use a DNS server to look up the domain name you're trying to access. The most accurate term for this process is DNS name resolution, and it's accurate to say that DNS servers resolve domain names to IP addresses.

For example, when you enter http://www.howstuffworks.com into the address bar of any computer's browser, a part of the network connection involves the process of resolving the domain name 'howstuffworks.com' to an IP address, such as 70.42.251.42 for the HowStuffWorks web server.

To bypass DNS Lookup, just enter 70.42.251.42 directly into your browser. Additionally, a website's IP address can change at any time, and some websites associate multiple IP addresses with a single domain name.

Without a DNS server, the Internet would 'shut down' rapidly. Typically, when connecting to a Home Network, Internet Service Provider (ISP), or WiFi, your computer or mobile device is assigned a network address by the modem or router and receives crucial network configuration information. This configuration includes one or more DNS servers that the device uses when translating DNS names into IP addresses.

By now, you've likely grasped some basic knowledge about DNS. To delve deeper, let's explore the structure of IP addresses and understand their significance in the domain name resolution process in the following section.

2. DNS Servers and IP Addresses

As mentioned earlier, the primary role of a DNS (Domain Name Server) is to resolve (or in other words, translate) a domain name into an IP address. This may sound straightforward, but in reality, it's far from simple. This is because:

- There are billions of IP addresses in use.
- DNS servers are handling 'billions' of requests on the Internet at any given moment.
- Every day, millions of people are adding and changing domain names as well as IP addresses.

To address these challenges, DNS servers rely on network performance and Internet protocols. Regarding IP addresses, each computer on the Internet has a unique IP address (including IPV4 and IPV6 standards) managed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

Here are some ways to identify an IP address:

- An IPV4 address consists of 4 groups separated by dots, denoted as A.B.C.D. For example: 70.74.251.42
- An IPV6 address has 8 groups, each group of 16 bits represented in hexadecimal and separated by colons. For instance: 2001:0cb8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.

However, IPV6 is a relatively new standard, so in this Free Download article, the focus will be on the more common IPV4 standard.

Each number in an IPV4 address group is called an 'Octet,' with each Octet having 8 bits, equivalent to 1 byte.

For example, the Octet written as 42 is a shorthand for 00101010. Each binary digit is a placeholder for a number ranging from 2 to 27, read from right to left. This means that in 00101010, you have numbers 21, 23, and 25. So, to get the equivalent base-10, simply add 21 + 23 + 25 = 2 + 8 + 32 = 42.

Some addresses and address ranges are designated by IANA for private IP addresses. For instance, the IP address 127.0.0.1 is used specifically to identify the computer you are using.

Where does a computer's IP address come from? If we're talking about a computer or laptop, the address may come from the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server on your network system.

The main task of the DHCP server is to ensure your computer has an IP address and other network configurations it needs whenever you're online. Since these are dynamic addresses, your computer's IP address can change.

Web servers and other computers require a consistent point of contact using static IP addresses. This means the same IP address is always assigned to the network interface when online.

To ensure the interface consistently receives an IP address, the IP combines the address with the MAC (Media Access Control) address on the network interface. Every network interface, including both wired and wireless networks, has a unique MAC address embedded by the manufacturer.

3. How to Find an IP Address

Here are some methods to discover the IP address on your computer. Note that the IP address may change periodically unless you're using a static IP address.

- Windows: The quickest way to find the IP address on a Windows computer is to open the Command Prompt window and then enter the ipconfig command.
- Mac: Open System Preferences, click on Network, ensure that your current network connection (indicated by a blue dot next to it) is selected, then click on Advanced and choose the TCP/IP tab.
- Linux or UNIX: Open the Terminal application, such as XTERM or iTerm, then enter the ifconfig command.
- On smartphones using Wi-Fi: Look for the IP address in the network settings. Each phone will have different ways to access and check network settings.

You've probably heard of the concept of changing DNS to access blocked websites, right? Changing DNS is quite straightforward, doesn't take much of your time, and helps you access restricted websites.

Computer networks encompass various concepts, and to become a proficient network administrator, you need to be familiar with all these concepts. ISP is one such concept. If you're not sure what ISP is, refer to the article on What is ISP by Mytour to enhance your knowledge.

DNS and NetBIOS are both crucial components in a user's computer. To understand the advantages and disadvantages of these two concepts, you can follow the article on the difference between DNS and NetBIOS to expand your knowledge.