What Is a DNS Server?

By Bradley Mitchell, About.com Guide

See More About: dns naming com uters and net!or"s client server net!or"s Ads Unlimited Broadband Plans#ay $ Save % months rental & instl. 'hec" (i"ona Service in your bldg!!!.ti"ona.in DNS TreeSee the delegation o) you domain all the !ay )rom the root*serversDNS(ree.com DNS, DHCP, IPAM troublesWorld leaders in remote and on*site DDI consulting and audit services.!!!.menandmice.com+consulting Question: What Is a DNS Server? (he Domain Name System ,DNS- is a standard technology )or managing the names o) Web sites and other Internet domains. DNS technology allo!s you to ty e names into your Web bro!ser li"e compnetworking.about.com and your com uter to automatically )ind that address on the Internet. A "ey element o) the DNS is a !orld!ide collection o) DNS servers. What, then, is a DNS server? Answer: A DNS server is any com uter registered to .oin the Domain Name System. A DNS server runs s ecial* ur ose net!or"ing so)t!are, )eatures a ublic I# address, and contains a database o) net!or" names and addresses )or other Internet hosts. DNS oot Servers DNS servers communicate !ith each other using rivate net!or" rotocols. All DNS servers are organi/ed in a hierarchy. At the to level o) the hierarchy, so*called root servers store the com lete database o) Internet domain names and their corres onding I# addresses. (he Internet em loys 01 root servers that have become some!hat )amous )or their s ecial role. Maintained by various inde endent agencies, the servers are a tly named A, B, ' and so on u to M. (en o) these servers reside in the 2nited States, one in 3a an, one in 4ondon, 25 and one in Stoc"holm, S!eden. DNS Server Hierar!"# (he DNS is a distributed system, meaning that only the 01 root servers contain the com lete database o) domain names and I# addresses. All other DNS servers are installed at lo!er levels o) the hierarchy and maintain only certain ieces o) the overall database. Most lo!er level DNS servers are o!ned by businesses or Internet Service #roviders ,IS#s-. 6or e7am le, Google maintains various DNS servers around the !orld that manage the google.com, google.co.u", and other domains. 8our IS# also maintains DNS servers as art o) your Internet connection setu . DNS net!or"ing is based on the client + server architecture. 8our Web bro!ser )unctions as a DNS client ,also called DNS resolver- and issues re9uests to your Internet rovider:s DNS servers !hen navigating bet!een Web sites. When a DNS server receives a re9uest not in its database ,such as a geogra hically )ar a!ay or rarely visited Web site-, it tem orarily trans)orms )rom a server to a DNS client. (he server automatically asses that re9uest to another DNS server or u to the ne7t higher level in the DNS hierarchy as needed. ;ventually the re9uest arrives at a server that has the matching name and I# address in its database ,all the !ay to the root level i) necessary-, and the res onse )lo!s bac" through the chain o) DNS servers to your client.

DNS Servers and Home Networ$in% 'om uters on your home net!or" locate a DNS server through the Internet connection setu ro erties. #roviders give their customers the ublic I# address,es- o) rimary and bac"u DNS servers. 8ou can )ind the current I# addresses o) your DNS server con)iguration via several methods<

on the con)iguration screens o) a home net!or" router on the ('#+I# connection ro erties screens in Windo!s 'ontrol #anel ,i) con)igured via that method)rom ipconfig or similar command line utility

I# address
By Bradley Mitchell, About.com Guide

See More About: internet rotocol tc i Ads &ireless Ba!$"aulIn)iNet Wireless = 'arrier*grade !ireless solutions.in)inet!ireless.com CCT' Camera S#stemWide >ange o) 'amera surveillance System )or ?omes & @))ice #ur ose.!!!.cctvguru"ri a.com+'ontactA2s &ireless Networ$ Solution;nsure 8our ;m loyee Wor")orce Stay 'onnected !ith their Smart Devices.!!!.ciscointelligentnet!or".in De(inition: An IP address is a logical address )or a net!or" ada ter. (he I# address uni9uely identi)ies com uters on a TCP/IP net!or". An I# address can be rivate * )or use on a local area net!or" ,4AN- * or ublic * )or use on the Internet or other !ide area net!or" ,WAN-. I# addresses can be determined statically ,assigned to a com uter by a system administrator- or dynamically ,assigned by another device on the net!or" on demand-. (!o I# addressing standards are in use today. (he IPv4 standard is most )amilar to eo le and su orted every!here on the Internet, but the ne!er I#vB standard is lanned to re lace it and starting to be de loyed. I#v$ addresses consist o) )our bytes ,1% bits-. ;ach byte o) an I# address is "no!n as an octet. @ctets can ta"e any value bet!een C and %DD. Earious conventions e7ist )or the numbering and use o) I# addresses. Common IP )IPv*+ Addresses *

0C.C.C.0 0%F.C.C.0 0G%.0BH.C.0 0G%.0BH.0.0 0G%.0BH.%.0

Also ,nown As: I# number

IS# * Internet Service #roviders

By Bradley Mitchell, About.com Guide

See More About: broadband internet service

dialu internet service in)ormation technology Ads Ti$ona Unlimited Internet#ay $ Save % months >ental & Instl. 'hec" Service in your bldg & @rder!!!.ti"ona.in Idea -. NetsetterNo! sur) the internet, do!nload music , !atch videos I %0 Mb sJ!!!.idea1g.co.in &ireless Broadband Business;nsure 8our ;m loyee Wor")orce Stay 'onnected !ith their Smart Devices.!!!.ciscointelligentnet!or".in De(inition: An ISP is a com any that su lies Internet connectivity to home and business customers. IS#s su ort one or more )orms o) Internet access, ranging )rom traditionalmodem dial*u to DS4 and cable modem broadband service to dedicated (0+(1 lines. More recently, wireless Internet servi!e /roviders or WIS#s have emerged that o))er Internet access through !ireless 4AN or !ireless broadband net!or"s. In addition to basic connectivity, many IS#s also o))er related Internet services li"e email, Web hosting and access to so)t!are tools. A )e! com anies also o))er (ree ISP service to those !ho need occasional Internet connectivity. (hese )ree o))erings )eature limited connect time and are o)ten bundled !ith some other roduct or service. Su%%ested eadin% Introduction to DS4 Be)ore you choose an IS# 'isco IS# ;ssentials

Introduction to 'lient Server Net!or"s

By Bradley Mitchell, About.com Guide

See More About: client server net!or"s history o) net!or"ing Ads ServerDiscover IntelK Leon Eirtuali/ation & ;nable 4o!er Data 'enter 'ostsM!!!.Intel.com 0ree Mail ServerWor" (ogether In >eal (ime @n Docs, S readsheets and More. 4earn ?o!.!!!.microso)t.com+o))ice1BD CCNA Courses 1 Institutes6ind (o ''NA Institutes in India. Get In)o on 'ourses,Admission,6ees.!!!.Shi"sha.com+''NA*'ourses

&ireless 2 Networ$in% Ads 'om uter Net!or" Security 6(# Server So)t!are Microso)t DNS Server D?'# Server (ools DNS Server 4ists Ads Unlimited Broadband Plans#ay $ Save % months rental & instl. 'hec" (i"ona Service in your bldg!!!.ti"ona.in &ireless Networ$ Solution;nsure 8our ;m loyee Wor")orce Stay 'onnected !ith their Smart Devices.!!!.ciscointelligentnet!or".in

(he term client-server re)ers to a o ular model )or com uter net!or"ing that utili/es client and server devices each designed )or s eci)ic ur oses. (he client*server model can be used on the Internet as !ell as local area net!or"s ,4ANs-. ;7am les o) client* server systems on the Internet include Web bro!sers and Web servers, 6(# clients and servers, and DNS. Client and Server Devi!es 'lient+server net!or"ing gre! in o ularity many years ago as ersonal com uters ,#'s- became the common alternative to older mainframe com uters. 'lient devices are ty ically #'s !ith net!or" so)t!are a lications installed that re9uest and receive in)ormation over the net!or". Mobile devices as !ell as des"to com uters can both )unction as clients. A server device ty ically stores )iles and databases including more com le7 a lications li"e Web sites. Server devices o)ten )eature higher* o!ered central rocessors, more memory, and larger dis" drives than clients. Client3Server A//li!ations (he client*server model distinguishes bet!een a lications as !ell as devices. Net!or" clients ma"e re9uests to a server by sending messages, and servers res ond to their clients by acting on each re9uest and returning results. @ne server generally su orts numerous clients, and multi le servers can be net!or"ed together in a ool to handle the increased rocessing load as the number o) clients gro!s. A client com uter and a server com uter are usually t!o se arate devices, each customi/ed )or their designed ur ose. 6or e7am le, a Web client !or"s best !ith a large screen dis lay, !hile a Web server does not need any dis lay at all and can be located any!here in the !orld. ?o!ever, in some cases a given device can )unction both as a client and a server )or the same a lication. 4i"e!ise, a device that is a server )or one a lication can simultaneously act as a client to other servers, )or di))erent a lications. NSome o) the most o ular a lications on the Internet )ollo! the client*server model including email, 6(# and Web services. ;ach o) these clients )eatures a user inter)ace ,either gra hic* or te7t*based- and a client a lication that allo!s the user to connect to servers. In the case o) email and 6(#, users enter a com uter name ,or sometimes an I# address- into the inter)ace to set u connections to the server. 4o!al Client3Server Networ$s Many home net!or"s utili/e client*server systems !ithout even reali/ing it. Broadband routers, )or e7am le, contain D?'# servers that rovide I# addresses to the home com uters ,D?'# clients-. @ther ty es o) net!or" servers )ound in home include print servers and backup servers. Client3Server vs Peer3to3Peer and 5t"er Models (he client*server model !as originally develo ed to allo! more users to share access to database a lications. 'om ared to the main)rame a roach, client*server o))ers im roved scalability because connections can be made as needed rather than being )i7ed. (he client*server model also su orts modular a lications that can ma"e the .ob o) creating so)t!are easier. In so*called Ot!o*tierO and Othree*tierO ty es o) client*server systems, so)t!are a lications are se arated into modular ieces, and each iece is installed on clients or servers s eciali/ed )or that subsystem.

'lient*server is .ust one a roach to managing net!or" a lications (he rimary alternative, peer-to-peer net!or"ing, models all devices as having e9uivalent ca ability rather than s eciali/ed client or server roles. 'om ared to client*server, eer to eer net!or"s o))er some advantages such as more )le7ibility in gro!ing the system to handle large number o) clients. 'lient*server net!or"s generally o))er advantages in "ee ing data secure. Su%%ested eadin% What Is a Server? Introduction to Net!or" 6ile Sharing What Is a E#N? Client3Server 3 elated To/i!s About DNS About #eer to #eer 6ile Sharing About Web Servers

Internet Proto!ol Tutorial

Domain Name S#stem 6 DNS
Domain Naming and Registration with DNS Though IP addresses allow computers and routers to identify each other efficiently, humans prefer to work with names rather than numbers. The Domain Name System - DNS supports the best of both worlds... (see below)
Ads
More of this Feature ! I# Address Notation ! I# Address 'lasses, Broadcast and Multicast ! I# 4oo bac" and #rivate Addresses, I#vB Anycast ! DNS - Domain Name System ! I# Net!or" Numbering ! I# Subnetting ! 'ID> * 'lassless Internet Domain >outing Related Resources ! I# #ractice (est ! ('#+I# >esources ! Net!or" #rotocol >esources Elsewhere on the Web ! I'ANN

DNS TreeSee the delegation o) you domain all the !ay )rom the root*serversDNS(ree.com Down a%ain7S!itch to someone more reliableM Web hosting starting at P1.GD+month!!!.stablehost.com DNS, DHCP, IPAM troublesWorld leaders in remote and on*site DDI consulting and audit services.!!!.menandmice.com+consulting ... . DNS allo!s nodes on the ublic Internet to be assigned both an I# address and a corres onding name, called a domain name. 6or DNS to !or" as designed, these names must be uni9ue !orld!ide. ?ence an entire Ocottage industryO has emerged around the urchasing o) domain names in the Internet name s ace. DNS Name S/a!e DNS is a hierarchical system. DNS organi es all registered names in a tree structure.

At the base or root o) the tree are a grou o) to/3level domains including )amiliar names li"ecom, org, and edu and numerous !ountr#3level domains li"e fi ,6inland-, ca ,'anada-, and my ,Malaysia-. @ne generally cannot urchase names at this level. ?o!ever, in a !ell* ublici/ed and controversial event in %CCC, the island nation o) (uvalu agreed to receive a large ayment in return )or rights to the root domain tv. Belo! this level are the second*level re%istered domains such as about.com. (hese are domains that organi/ations can urchase )rom any o) numerous accredited re%istrars. 6or nodes in the com, org, and edu domains, the Internet 'or oration )or Assigned Names and Numbers ,I'ANN- oversees registrations. Belo! that, lo!al domains li"e compnetworking.about.com are de)ined and administered by the overall domain o!ner. DNS su orts additional tree levels as !ell. (he eriod ,:.:- al!ays se arates each level o) the hierarchy in DNS. DNS oot 4evel and 5t"er Servers DNS is also a distributed system. (he DNS database contains a list o) registered domain names. It )urther contains a ma ing or conversion bet!een each name and one or more I# addresses. ?o!ever, DNS re9uires a coordinated e))ort among many com uters ,servers-Q no one com uter holds the entire DNS database. ;ach DNS server maintain .ust one iece o) the overall hierarchy * one level o) the tree and then only a subset or 8one !ithin that level. (he to level o) the DNS hierarchy, also called the root level, is maintained by a set o) 01 servers called root name servers. (hese servers have gained some notoriety )or their uni9ue role on the Internet. Maintained by various inde endent agencies, the servers are uni9uely named A, B, C and so on u to M. (en o) these servers reside in the 2nited States, one in 3a an, one in 4ondon, and one in Stoc"holm, S!eden. DNS esolvers DNS works in a client"ser#er fashion. DNS ser#ers respond to re$uests from DNS clients calledresolvers. IS#s and other organi ations set up local DNS resol#ers as well as ser#ers. %ost DNS ser#ers also act as resol#ers, routing re$uests up the tree to higher-le#el DNS ser#ers, and also delegating re$uests to other ser#ers. DNS ser#ers e#entually return the re$uested mapping &either address-to-name or name-to-address' to the resol#er. DNS and DHCP DNS was not designed to work with dynamic addressing such as that supported by D?'#. DNS re$uires that fi(ed &static' addresses be maintained in the database. )eb ser#ers in particular re$uire fi(ed IP addresses for this reason.