Grades 3–5 · Computing
How does DNS connect a readable name with a network address?
DNS stands for Domain Name System. It helps software use readable names rather than requiring people to remember network addresses. A name and an address are different kinds of information. Finding an associated address is called name resolution.
In the diagramDNS supplies an address for a namegarden.exampleDeviceName queryDNS answer tablelookup192.0.2.10Address answer, not page contents.Packet transport is a separate process after resolution.
The fictional table associates garden.example with 192.0.2.10. A device asks for information about the name and receives that address in the demonstrated answer. Another supplied name has a different address. A name absent from this small table receives no address from this model.
The answer does not contain the garden page itself. After resolution, separate network communication can use addressing information to request and transport application contents. DNS queries and replies are messages too, but their purpose here is lookup, not delivery of the page. Real DNS spreads information across servers and may reuse cached answers; the small table keeps the name-to-address role visible.
About this explanation
Starting knowledge: Distinguish a readable name from a location label and follow a request-and-answer diagram.
Sources
- Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers — The Domain Name System