What is DNS

DNS (Domain Name System) is one of the fundamental infrastructures of the internet. This article introduces the basic concepts and working principles of DNS.
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Essentially, the DNS service is like a Xinhua Dictionary. By querying this dictionary, we can find the IP address corresponding to a domain name.

Introduction to DNS

DNS (Domain Name System) is one of the fundamental infrastructures of the internet. Like a Xinhua Dictionary, it is responsible for translating human-readable domain names into computer-understandable IP addresses.

DNS Resolution Principle

How DNS Works

When you enter a website address in your browser:

  1. The browser first checks local cache
  2. If not found, it queries a DNS server
  3. The DNS server returns the corresponding IP address
  4. The browser uses this IP address to access the target website

Key Concepts

  • Domain Name: A human-readable website address, such as www.nullprivate.com
  • URL (Uniform Resource Locator): A complete web address containing protocol, domain name, and path, such as https://www.nullprivate.com
  • IP Address: A numeric identifier for network devices, such as 1.1.1.1
  • DNS Server: Computers that provide domain name resolution services
  • Web Hosting: Storing website files on servers to make them accessible via the internet