Networking Beginner

What is DNS (Domain Name System)?

A hierarchical naming system that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses.

DNS acts as the internet's phone book. When you type "example.com," DNS resolves it to an IP address like 93.184.216.34. The resolution process involves recursive resolvers, root servers, TLD servers, and authoritative nameservers.

Common record types include A (IPv4), AAAA (IPv6), CNAME (alias), MX (mail), TXT (verification), and NS (nameserver). DNS caching reduces lookup times with TTL (Time To Live) values.

Related Terms

VLAN (Virtual LAN)

A logical grouping of network devices that creates separate broadcast domains on the same physical network infrastructure.

Network Monitoring

The practice of continuously observing network infrastructure to detect failures, performance degradation, and security threats.

An intermediary server that forwards requests between clients and destination servers, providing caching, filtering, or anonymity.

ARP (Address Resolution Protocol)

A protocol that maps IP addresses to physical MAC addresses on a local network segment.

A modern, lightweight VPN protocol that uses state-of-the-art cryptography and minimal code for fast, secure tunneling.

DNS over HTTPS (DoH)

A protocol that encrypts DNS queries by sending them over HTTPS, preventing eavesdropping and manipulation of DNS traffic.

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