Configuring the Domain Name Service

How DNS works

DNS uses a client/server architecture to maintain and distribute hostnames and IP addresses on networks ranging from small local area networks to the Internet. This list briefly describes the key concepts of DNS:

domain name space: All DNS hostnames fit into a name hierarchy, or tree, known as the domain name space.
nodes: This tree radiates from the top, or root, into branches consisting of nodes (host computers).
domains: An individual branch, or a collection of branches, makes up each DNS domain: a group of computers at a particular university or company, or a local network within a particular organization.
zones: A full domain, a domain and its subdomains, or a portion of a domain for which a name server has the authority to maintain data.
servers and clients: Each zone consists of DNS servers (computers that maintain hostname and address databases) and DNS clients (networking programs, such as ping, rlogin, or telnet on a DNS server or client).
resolution: Resolution occurs when a client machine, while attempting to connect to another machine, queries the DNS server to obtain the needed IP address. If a server on the local domain cannot resolve the client request, it attempts to locate a server that can through the use of iterative queries to other servers.