IP addresses come in two versions: The older Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), and IPv6. By default, however, your devices will send DNS queries to DNS servers run by your internet provider (ISP).
The software for setting up a DNS server is freely available, allowing anyone with the technical knowledge to create one for themselves. These servers also communicate with other DNS servers to ensure that all URL to DNS mappings remain up-to-date. The job of matching URLs to IP addresses (more technically referred to as resolving DNS queries) is performed by DNS servers. When the IP address of some URLs or devices change – not all all devices and websites have static, fixed IP addresses – systems are updated via DDNS (Dynamic DNS) services.ĭNS servers try to answer queries themselves, but if they cannot, they contact another in a long hierarchy of DNS servers, one of which will complete the request. The URL – such as – can be understood by humans, whereas the IP address the DNS links it to works for the machines. A DNS essentially assigns this string of numbers to a web address that is recognizable, memorable, and comprehensible to any human using a computer. This is not how we remember building addresses, for example – most people can just about remember a small collection of two or three-digit house numbers belonging to their closest friends. You can probably see the problem a long sequence of random digits isn't very memorable. So DNS is really just a fancy address book, albeit one that needs to be continually updated and coordinated across the internet.Įvery computing device and webpage has an IP address – a unique collection of numbers that pinpoint a specific point in cyberspace such as a device or website. The Domain Name System (DNS) simply maps URL web addresses to the IP addresses which computers really use to identify the website. This is the easy-to-use "web address” that we are all familiar with. To address this problem, World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee also invented the Uniform Resource Locator (URL). This is often referred to as its IP address, or just "IP.” Computers identify websites by their IP addresses. DNS servers are sometimes referred to as the phonebooks of the internet because they're basically a large collection of web addresses designed for computers.Įvery device which connects to the internet is assigned a unique identifying number known as an Internet Protocol address. DNS stands for 'Domain Name System', something which is called into action every time you make a request for some sort of information online.