From the course: Computer Science Principles: The Internet

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The Domain Name Server and DNS

The Domain Name Server and DNS

From the course: Computer Science Principles: The Internet

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The Domain Name Server and DNS

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- IP addresses are a key part of the Internet, that's why it's called the Internet Protocol. But for humans, they aren't very intuitive, so there needed to be a way for humans to be able to take phrases that we understand, and have them mapped to IP addresses for devices, and websites around the world. The solution is a domain name. The domain name is a sequence of phrases that map to a giant Internet-wide database of IP addresses. So for a website like www.dougwinnie.com this is the domain name for the website. When you enter that domain name into your browser, you send that request to something called a DNS, or Domain Name Server, this server holds a cache of tons of domain names, and their matching IP addresses. But there isn't just one DNS, there are lots of them throughout the Internet. As new domains are created, and as old ones change, those changes are recorded by a DNS, and they spread throughout the Internet. If you send a request to a DNS for www.dougwinnie.com and it…

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