Difference between revisions of "Domain Name System"

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The '''Domain Name System''' (usually abbreviated to '''DNS''') is a [[distributed database]] which is used on the [[Internet]] to hold [[mapping]]s from human-readable names (such as '.COM') to [[binary]] [[address]]es.
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The '''Domain Name System''' (usually abbreviated to '''DNS''') is a replicated [[distributed database]] which is used on the [[Internet]] to hold [[mapping]]s from human-readable names (such as '.COM') to [[binary]] [[address]]es. Before DNS, a [[file]] holding the mappings, the [[host table]], was used, but that clearly was not going to scale.
  
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The DNS is organized as a [[hierarchy]]; like [[file]] names in a hierarchical [[file system]], a complete DNS name consists of a number of parts, each one of which selects one of the possibile [[namespace]]s (sub-directories) at the next level down. The leaves of the tree usually name individual [[host]]s.
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The DNS is organized as a [[hierarchy]]; like [[file]] names in a hierarchical [[file system]], a complete DNS name consists of a number of parts, each one of which selects one of the possible [[namespace]]s (sub-directories) at the next level down. The leaves of the tree usually name individual [[host]]s.
  
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Although the DNS has the capability to hold addresses for a number of different [[protocol suite]]s, in general it now only hold addresses for the [[Internet Protocol]].
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Although the DNS has the capability to hold addresses for a number of different [[protocol suite]]s using the concept of address ''classes'', in general it now only hold addresses for the [[Internet Protocol]].  The '''CH''' class for [[Chaosnet|Chaos]] fell in disuse and has sometimes been reused for other purposes, but is now in use again for a hobbyist Chaos network.
  
 
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==See also==
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* [[Request for Comments]]
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==External links==
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* [https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc882 Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities] (RFC-882 - November, 1983)
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* [https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc883 Domain Names - Implementation and Specification] (RFC-883 - November, 1983)
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* [https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc973 Domain System Changes and Observations] (RFC-973 - January, 1986)
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* [https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1034 Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities] (RFC-1034 - November, 1987)
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* [https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc1035 Domain Names - Implementation and Specification] (RFC-1035 - November, 1987)
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* [https://chaosnet.net/chaos-dns DNS for a hobbyist Chaosnet]
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[[Category: Internet]]
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[[Category: Chaos]]

Latest revision as of 17:19, 12 December 2023

The Domain Name System (usually abbreviated to DNS) is a replicated distributed database which is used on the Internet to hold mappings from human-readable names (such as '.COM') to binary addresses. Before DNS, a file holding the mappings, the host table, was used, but that clearly was not going to scale.

The DNS is organized as a hierarchy; like file names in a hierarchical file system, a complete DNS name consists of a number of parts, each one of which selects one of the possible namespaces (sub-directories) at the next level down. The leaves of the tree usually name individual hosts.

Although the DNS has the capability to hold addresses for a number of different protocol suites using the concept of address classes, in general it now only hold addresses for the Internet Protocol. The CH class for Chaos fell in disuse and has sometimes been reused for other purposes, but is now in use again for a hobbyist Chaos network.

See also

External links

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