Have you ever wondered, what is a DNS server? DNS servers are referred to all over the place, but unless you know a lot about Web hosting, the purpose of a DNS server might not be obvious.
Web hosting basics.
Before you can really get into DNS, you have to understand some basics about Web hosting. All of the content that you see on the Web exists on a computer somewhere. A Web server stores Web site content and data. Web servers might be home computers in some guy's basement, or a hosted server owned by a Web hosting company or ISP. Server solutions are endless, and Web hosting takes many forms. While content can be transferred from one computer to another, every piece of content on the Web comes from a different server computer where it lives.
Understanding IP addresses.
IP addresses are an integral part of Web hosting. All of those computers that store the data that make up the Web have physical addresses called IP addresses. IP addresses are a bunch of numbers strung together that designate a specific computer. Because people have a hard time remembering long strings of numbers that represent physical addresses for Web content, the DNS system exists to simplify Web surfing and browsing.
What does DNS mean?
DNS stands for Domain Name Servers. The concept of a DNS is fairly simple to understand. When you type in a Web address, you're typing in a word or series of letters that are easy for a person to remember. The actual computer you're accessing is designated by a long string of numbers called the IP address. Since you're not typing an IP address into your Web browser, there has to be a system somewhere that translates the words you type into a physical IP address. That's what a DNS server does.
How do DNS servers work?
A DNS server is basically a computer that has a gigantic database containing a long list of handles and their corresponding IP addresses. When you type words into your Web browser, the browser queries the DNS system to find out the physical IP address of the content you want. From there, your Web browser redirects to connect to the physical address, and that's how you access the content on the Web.
DNS servers are a series of computers.
There isn't just one DNS server for every site on the Web. The DNS database is spread across servers around the world. If the nearby DNS server that you query doesn't know the IP address of the site you're trying to find, it may query other DNS servers or redirect you to a different DNS server that contains additional data. You may experience a series of redirects before the DNS system finds the Web site you're seeking, but most of this happens fast enough that the average user never knows what's happening.
DNS servers have to be updated regularly.
Every time someone registers a new domain, the DNS system must be updated to tell Web browsers how to access the physical address represented by that domain. These DNS databases are distributed on DNS servers around the world, and it can take up to 72 hours for a new domain to be active.
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