Did you ever wonder? When we type any domain name in your browser search bar, it leads us to the relevant link. How did that happen? There are millions of different types of domains on the internet today, and all these links are linked to some specific word or keywords. But here, the question arises. How does the internet know which link is to be delivered for the typed word?
The answer to this question is by ‘DNS lookup’. Now you must be wondering what’s that and if you heard it for the first time, this article’s got you!
Before diving into DNS lookup, we need our minds to translate that DNS means ‘Domain Name System’. Let’s check out the details of this system.
What is DNS?
We were taking up the example of our telephone directory in our homes at times of landlines. It contained all the landline numbers of people and organizations and their names.
Whenever we meet any need of contacting or calling in the directory, we find the person’s or organization’s name. Then dial their relevant numbers, and the contact has been made. That’s precisely how DNS works. It is generally regarded as a phonebook of every web address.
The DNS system interprets comprehensible domain names into IP addresses. An IP address is a long series of numbers and images remembered only by a computer. The readable URL popping up in our browser bar gets linked to the IP address.
An IP address gets a million links on the internet linked onto it, making it difficult for us to remember the full link or IP address. DNS solves this problem by storing a link to each keyword and its IP address, making it easier for us to access the relevant link by typing names or keywords.
Why DNS lookup?
The use of DNS lookup can be broadly classified for two main reasons:
- Remembering any IP address or link is unnecessary for this system because remembering names is more accessible than remembering numbers or links.
- The IP address associated with any domain never remains static. Its nature is dynamic, which keeps it changing.
Looking into an example, if a person creates a website and gets it hosted on Amazon web services. After hosting, he gets an IP address as well. Now, he’ll be getting traffic on that website based on its name, and it gets popular for its name and not for its IP address.
However, if the address gets changed for some reason, it won’t significantly affect the website’s traffic because people are searching by its name. But, if the website’s name gets changed, the traffic gets affected significantly.
How DNS Lookup Works
Now let’s look into how DNS lookup works.
When we enter a domain name in our browser bar, this request goes to the root server. Here, a resolver is used as a transferring medium between the user and the root server. Our request is then taken to the next stage by the root server-to the generic or country server.
At this stage, the website’s domain gets identified and then sends the mapped address to the name attached to the domain to the resolver. And that’s how the resolver shows the data of that address on your screen.
Types of DNS Records
There are different types of records in the DNS lookup enlisted below:
A Record
It is abbreviated as an address record. It is the simplest and the most basic DNS record used to extract any given domain’s address from IPv4.
AAAA Record
The updated form of the A record is also used as an address record. It extracts the IP address of any IPv6, the updated version of IPv4.
CName Record
It is abbreviated as Canonical name record. It is used to map the subdomain to domain hosting, that is, the subdomain’s content.
MX Record
It is abbreviated as mail exchanger record. It is used to extract the domain’s mail server’s address. If the domain lacks an MX record, all the sent emails to the domain get rejected.
NS Record
It is abbreviated as Name Server record. Putting a name server record on the internet tells where to find the domain address. Additionally, If a user desires to change their server name, he can use the name server record.
Pointer Record
It is the opposite of an A record, as it gives a domain name related to the IP address. Such records are used in the reverse system of DNS lookup.
TXT Record
Abbreviated as a text record, it adds additional data to the domain name. Google uses TXT records to ensure the security of the email regarding domain ownership.
SPF Record
It is abbreviated as sender policy framework record. MX record along with SPF record is used for using a mail server. It is the additional step in the mail record that tells us the authentication of the mail server.
Conclusion
Advanced technology made a lot of things more accessible and more convenient for us. It would nearly have been impossible for us to remember every web address on the internet.
Using a DNS lookup tool like DNS checker has made it easier for us to access any of the web addresses available there. So you don’t have to stress about searching or remembering a web address individually.
