Assignment No: 04
Course Code: CS-312
Submitted to: Miss Iznah
Submitted by: Nawal Najam
Class: BSCS-VI
Domain Name System
What is DNS?
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet. Humans access
information online through domain names, like nytimes.com or espn.com. Web
browsers interact through Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. DNS translates
domain names to IP addresses so browsers can load Internet resources .Each
device connected to the Internet has a unique IP address which other machines
use to find the device. DNS servers eliminate the need for humans to memorize
IP addresses such as 192.168.1.1 (in IPv4), or more complex newer alphanumeric
IP addresses such as 2400: cb00:2048: 1::c629: d7a2 (in IPv6).
Working Of Domain Name System:
Domain Name System (DNS) is an important part of how the internet function. It
translates human-readable domain names (like www.google.com) into machine-
readable IP addresses (like 192.0.2.1) that computers use to communicate with
each other. Let’s dive into the detailed steps of how DNS works.
1. User Request:
When we type a domain name like https://www.ilmikiduniya.com into our
browser, our computer starts the process of finding the corresponding IP address
needed to connect to the website.
2. Check Local Cache:
The first place our system looks is in its local cache, which may include:
• Browser Cache: The browser might have recently stored the IP address if
we’ve visited the site before.
• Operating System (OS) Cache: The OS maintains a DNS cache to speed up
lookups.
• Router Cache: Our router might also store previously requested IP
addresses.
If the IP address is found in any of these caches, the process ends here and the
browser connects to the website. Otherwise, the process moves forward.
3. Check Host Files:
If the IP address is not in the local cache, the system may check host files, which
are manually configured mappings of domain names to IP addresses. This is rare
in modern systems, but it might still be used for certain network configurations.
4. Query DNS Resolver:
If no IP address is found locally, the request is sent to a DNS Resolver. The Resolver
is a server provided by our Internet Service Provider (ISP) or a public DNS service
like Google DNS (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1). The Resolver acts as the
intermediary that communicates with various DNS servers to find the IP address.
5. Contact the Root Server:
Resolver first contacts the Root DNS Server which is the starting point for DNS
lookups. The Root server doesn’t know the exact IP address of but directs the
query to the Top-Level Domain (TLD) Server responsible for .org.
6. Query TLD Server:
Resolver sends the query to the TLD Server for .org domains. The TLD server
handles domain names ending in .org and knows where to find the authoritative
nameserver for wikipedia.org
7. Query the Authoritative Server:
The Resolver then queries the authoritative nameserver for.org This server is
responsible for storing DNS records for the domain, including the mapping of the
domain name to its IP address.
8. Retrieve the IP Address:
Authoritative nameserver responds to the Resolver with the exact IP address
(e.g., 192.0.2.1) for wikipedia.org
9. Return IP Address to Computer:
Resolver receives the IP address from the authoritative nameserver and sends it
back to our computer. At this point, our computer knows how to connect to the
website.
10. Connect to the Real Server:
With the IP address in hand, our browser sends a request to the real server that
hosts wikpedia.org. This server processes the request and sends the necessary
data back to our browser.
11. Website Loads:
Our browser receives the response from the real server and the website content
is displayed on our screen. All of this happens in just milliseconds, making the
process seamless for the user.
