What Is DNS Internet?

A domain name system (DNS) is a service that translates a domain, or website address, into an Internet protocol (IP) number. The DNS Internet is a network of different servers that go through the list of IP addresses until one server knows where the IP address goes. This feature is included on most major Internet programs, because it is usually easier for people to remember words instead of a string of numbers. While the DNS Internet is commonly for website addresses, DNS servers also may contain the information of different servers online, such as mail servers.

When someone goes online, he or she typically goes to a website by typing in its domain name or website address; the domain commonly is one word, several words, or words with some numbers. These domains do not describe where the information is included on the Internet. Instead, they point to IP addresses, and DNS Internet must find the connection between domains and their associated IP addresses to bring the user to the right website. Unlike domains, IP addresses describe the actual location of the domain on the server.

The DNS Internet network works like a separate network that is required by most people. When the user types in a domain, the DNS takes this request to find the appropriate IP address. This is a network, so the DNS servers typically communicate. This is beneficial, because if one server does not know the appropriate IP address, then the request will keep branching out until a server that does know it is found.

While the DNS Internet network functions as a separate unit, it is included in most major Internet programs. At the same time, a user is able to bypass this system at any time. To do so, the user just has to type in the IP address instead of the domain name, and it will bring the user to the correct website. This may make the website load faster, but the user typically will need a domain-to-IP converter to know the correct IP address.

DNS Internet servers are mostly used for domain names, but they also contain other information that is relevant to the Internet. For example, many websites and businesses have a mail server that may not be open to the public. The DNS servers look up this information, and they mostly contain the information of private servers that operate online. If the DNS servers are not aware of an outside server, then the user will not have a domain for the server, just an IP address.