Saturday, July 19, 2008

what is DNS

Domain Name System (DNS) is one of the industry-standard suite of protocols that comprise TCP/IP. Microsoft Windows Server 2003. DNS is implemented using two software components: the DNS server and the DNS client (or resolver). Both components are run as background service applications.

Network resources are identified by numeric IP addresses, but these IP addresses are difficult for network users to remember. The DNS database contains records that map user-friendly alphanumeric names for network resources to the IP address used by those resources for communication. In this way, DNS acts as a mnemonic device, making network resources easier to remember for network users.

The Windows Server 2003 DNS Server and Client services use the DNS protocol that is included in the TCP/IP protocol suite. DNS is part of the application layer of the TCP/IP reference model.

DNS in TCP/IP

DNS in TCP/IP

For more information and to view logical diagrams illustrating how DNS fits with other Windows Server 2003 technologies, see “How DNS Works" in this collection.

By default, Windows Server 2003 DNS is used for all name resolution in a Windows Server 2003 network. In the most typical scenario, when a Windows Server 2003 network user specifies the name of a network host or an internet DNS domain name, the DNS Client service running on the Windows Server 2003 computer of the user contacts a DNS server to resolve the name to an IP address.

No comments: