DNS resolution is the whole process from receiving the query to finding the IP address and loading the searched page. It happens daily, and we don’t even notice it. In our article, we will go over this procedure in full detail.
DNS resolution – what does it mean?
The process of finding an IP address from a domain name is known as DNS resolution. We can simply visualize DNS resolution by imagining a phone directory with people’s names. Unfortunately, it’s too difficult for us to remember their phone numbers. For DNS resolution, the same principle applies. It gets to its IP address via the domain name.
How to fix DNS resolution errors?
Long ago, a simple and efficient translation process became necessary. This service was created to make it easier and faster to visit websites. We would have to manually enter every single IP address of the URLs we searched if this method didn’t exist.
The components of Domain name resolution
To best understand how dns resolution works, we’ll introduce you to its most basic components.
- DNS query – A DNS query (or DNS request) is a request for information delivered to a DNS server from a customer’s computer. Most of the time, a DNS request is sent to obtain the IP address associated with a domain name.
- Domain name – The address of a website is known as a domain name. That’s what users type into their browser’s search box to go straight to the website. A domain name is distinct from other names. An example of a domain name is example4domain.com.
- IP address – An IP address is a one-of-a-kind identifier for a device on the Internet. IP is an abbreviation for “Internet Protocol,” which is a collection of rules that regulate the format of data transferred over the Internet. An example for IP is 123.47.12.98.
- DNS servers – A DNS server is a server that handles the Domain Name System, which is responsible for matching domain names to IP addresses. Its purpose is to resolve DNS requests. We will look at several servers in DNS resolution – Resolver, Root, TLD, and Authoritative server.
How does DNS resolution work?
You are already familiar with the components of DNS resolution. It follows several steps. Now let’s take a look at them.
1. The first step starts from the user request. That is, he/she makes a request for example4domain.com. This request arrives at Resolver.
2. Then, the process begins once the request reaches the Resolver or DNS recursor. The organisation is in a hierarchical way. Put another way, it begins on the left and works its way to the right. So if we take our example example4domain.com., we will start from “.” and then from .com.
3. The DNS recursor sends a query to the Root server. Here, it gives us information about the “.” at the end of the domain name.
4. The root server sends a request to the TLD server. In our example, the TLD server will provide us with information for .com.
5. TLD server sends the request to Authoritative nameserver. The Authoritative nameserver will give us information about example4domain.com.
6. Send a query to the DNS Zone. The DNS Zone will tell us about the IP of the domain. In our example, IP address 123.47.12.98
7. The Internet user receives his or her IP address. The user gets the IP address of the searched domain and is able to successfully load the site via the Internet and web servers.
Related article: Get familiar with the most popular DNS terms [List]
Conclusion
As ordinary Internet users, we often don’t realize that to find an internet page, we use the Domain Name System. Therefore, we may deduce that visiting websites will be complicated and slow without DNS resolution. However, our Internet surfing has become a lot more fun and accessible.