Developer Dictionary
DNS
Definition
Domain Name System; the phonebook of the Internet that translates domain names to IP addresses.
Deep Dive
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the internet's fundamental phonebook, a hierarchical and decentralized naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. Its primary function is to translate human-readable domain names (like "www.example.com") into machine-readable IP addresses (like "192.0.2.1"). Without DNS, users would have to remember complex numerical IP addresses to access websites, making the internet far less user-friendly.
Examples & Use Cases
- 1Typing "google.com" into a browser, and DNS resolving it to an IP address
- 2Email servers using DNS MX records to find where to deliver mail
- 3CDNs using DNS to direct users to the nearest content server
Related Terms
IP AddressDomain NameWeb Hosting