What Is DNS? How the Domain Name System Works – Shopify

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The domain name system (DNS) connects domains with IP addresses. Learn what a DNS server is and how DNS works, and review types of DNS queries.
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The domain name system (DNS) is essential for web browsing, yet few understand how it works. Have you ever wondered how web browsers manage to sort the internet’s vast documentation to serve you with the right pages? Then this article is for you. 
The domain name system (DNS) is a universally recognized mechanism that identifies and locates all pages and content reachable through the web. It translates and connects a human-readable URL (such as shopify.com) to a machine-readable number, known as an IP address (such as 23.227.38.65). A user’s browser uses this IP address to retrieve a site’s content.
“DNS is used for lots of less obvious things, too: connecting a domain to an email provider (e.g., Fastmail, Google Workspace, etc.), confirming ownership of a domain (e.g., for federated social media), and much more,” adds Dave Smyth, independent UX/UI designer.
The DNS was created in 1983 by Paul Mockapetris and Jon Postel as part of the ARPANET project. At the time, computers could only communicate using numbers, and a browser needed a website’s IP address to access it. The DNS became the connection, acting as a virtual phonebook of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses.
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DNS is like a phone book for the web. It locates and serves you the pages you seek through a rapid, complex series of internet protocols. When you type a URL into a web browser, the DNS translates it into a unique internet protocol (IP) address, similar to a phone number. Every device that’s connected to the internet—whether you use it to host websites or browse them—has an IP address.
A DNS query (or a DNS request) is a request for information sent from a user’s device (called the DNS client) to a DNS server. The most common type of DNS query is a request for the IP address associated with a specific domain. 
For example, if you wanted to visit shopify.com, your computer would send a DNS query to a DNS server to ask for the site’s IP address. The DNS server replies with the IP address that your computer uses to connect you with the Shopify website. All of this happens within seconds.

A DNS server is a computer that converts domain names into IP addresses and is a crucial component of the internet. A browser sends a request to the DNS server to find a domain’s IP address, and then you land on the intended website. 
A DNS server works through a process called DNS resolution. A client, a.k.a. a user device, issues a DNS query for an “A record,” essentially a map that connects a domain name to an IP address. There are four types of DNS servers involved in loading a webpage: 
A DNS recursor (or recursive resolver) is the first step in a DNS query. Imagine a recursive resolver as the front desk attendant of a large archival warehouse. They receive DNS resolver queries from your browser, then send their own DNS requests to several other servers to locate the information you’re looking for. 
The root name server is the first server the recursor queries during the DNS lookup process. A DNS root name server receives requests from a recursor and responds with a list of top-level domain (TLD) nameservers that contain the information the recursor is looking for. 
A TLD name server is responsible for maintaining information for all domains that share a common extension (such as .com or .net), known as a top-level domain. After receiving a response from the root name server, the DNS recursor queries the appropriate TLD name server, which responds with the appropriate authoritative name server. 
An authoritative name server answers the DNS recursor’s initial query, replying with the webpage’s IP address—or, if it can’t find it, with an error message.
Once the resolver has a corresponding IP address for the requested webpage, it can send the information to the web browser, which can then display the requested web page.
A DNS translates the domain name requested by a user into an IP address. The IP address is the numeric location of the files belonging to that domain. 
When a DNS client stores DNS records locally, it’s called DNS caching. Caching lets clients produce information about web pages associated with given domain names without having to perform DNS queries. 
The domain name system also implements a time-to-live (or TTL) on all DNS records, which specifies how long clients can cache records. TTL values are stored during the caching process, enabling records to delete themselves from the cache once the specified period has passed.
There are three types of DNS queries: recursive, iterative, and non-recursive.
In a recursive query, a DNS client provides a hostname and requires the recursive DNS server (DNS resolver) to respond with the correct resource records or an error message saying the records could not be retrieved.
In an iterative query, a DNS client provides a hostname and allows the DNS resolver to return the best answer it can. The DNS resolver may respond by returning cached DNS records (if it has them) or by referring the DNS client to the root server or an authoritative DNS server nearest to the required DNS zone. 
The recursor then queries the provided DNS name servers for a match. This process continues down the server chain of command until an answer, error, or timeout occurs. 
In this type of query, the DNS resolver provides an immediate answer, either because it’s authoritative for the record or because it has the record stored in its cache. In non-recursive queries, there is no need for additional queries since a response can be returned immediately. 
A DNS lookup is a process that your computer uses to find the IP address of a domain. Here’s how the process works:
A canonical name (CNAME) record is used in the DNS lookup process for creating an alias from one domain name to another.
For example, a DNS client trying to resolve the subdomain name www.example.com would be referred to the root domain (in this case, example.com) by a CNAME record. 
Some common uses for CNAME records are:
Browsing the internet wouldn’t be possible without the domain name system (DNS)—every internet service provider uses it. The virtual equivalent of a phonebook, the DNS connects domain names with IP addresses, leading users to their desired websites. 
If you’re buying a domain for your new project, opt for a registrar that makes DNS management easy. Shopify, for example, lets you edit the DNS settings from your Shopify-managed domain without leaving the ecommerce platform, giving you one less thing to worry about when you’re selling online.
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DNS stands for domain name system.
The easiest way to find out your DNS provider is to type your domain into WHOIS. This database shows your DNS hosting provider under the Name section.
DNS traffic comes from the DNS network. When a user types a domain into their browser, their device sends a DNS query to the resolver to ask for its IP address. Providers track these analytics, known as DNS traffic, to analyze usage and detect patterns.
Try these steps to fix a DNS server problem:
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