What is DNS? How Does it Work

Are you ready to learn about something super important that happens behind the scenes when you're browsing the internet?

It's called DNS and it's like the phonebook of the internet.

So, you know how you have a phonebook with all the phone numbers of people in your town? 📞

Well, the internet has something similar called DNS (short for Domain Name System) that helps your computer find the right website when you type in the address.

When you type in a website address like www.google.com, your computer needs to know the actual IP address of that website to be able to connect to it. 😕

Just like how you can remember your friend's phone number because it's easy to remember (555-555-5555) but you can't remember their IP address (172.217.9.174), it's easier for us to remember a website's name rather than its IP address.

DNS servers work like the phonebook of the internet. 📚

They keep a list of website names and their corresponding IP addresses, so when you type in a website name, the DNS server looks up the IP address and sends it to your computer.

Think of it like this: you're trying to call your friend (the website) but you don't know their phone number (IP address). So, you look it up in the phonebook (DNS server) and find the right number to call.

It's important to note that there are different types of DNS servers, each with their own specific function. 🤔 For example, there are root DNS servers that contain information about the top-level domains (like .com or .org), and there are local DNS servers that are used by your internet service provider to speed up the process of looking up a website's IP address.

In short, DNS is like a phonebook for the internet that helps your computer find the right website by looking up the website's IP address.

Without DNS, you'd have to remember the IP address for every website you wanted to visit, and let's be real, who has time for that? 😴 So, the next time you type in a website address and it takes you to the right page, give a little shoutout to the DNS servers for making it happen.