Glossary of terms

Domain Name System (DNS) address

A Domain Name System (DNS) address typically refers to the IP address associated with a domain name. DNS is a hierarchical system that translates human-readable domain names into IP addresses (such as 192.168.1.1) that are used by computers to identify each other on the network.

Common public DNS server addresses include those provided by Google (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1). These can be manually configured on a device or set at the router level to apply to all devices on a local network. DNS settings can be automatically assigned by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or configured manually on the device or router.

DNS (Domain Name System) addresses are fundamental to the functioning of the Internet and are used in various ways across different spheres of technology and communication.

Here are some key features and areas of application for DNS addresses:

Web Browsing and Internet Services

One of the most common uses of DNS addresses is in web browsing. When you enter a domain name in your web browser, DNS translates that name into the corresponding IP address of the web server hosting the website. This process allows users to access websites using human-readable names instead of complex IP addresses.

Load Balancing and Redundancy

DNS can be used for load balancing across multiple servers. By configuring DNS records with multiple IP addresses for the same domain, traffic can be distributed among different servers to improve performance and ensure redundancy in case of server failures.

Security Measures

DNS is also used in various security measures. DNS filtering is used to block access to malicious websites and content, while DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) is used to add cryptographic security to DNS to protect against attacks like DNS spoofing and cache poisoning.

Private Networks and IoT

Within private networks, organizations often run their own internal DNS servers to manage the resolution of internal domain names and private network resources. Additionally, as the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow, DNS becomes increasingly important for identifying and accessing IoT devices on networks.

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