1.4.2 DNS Queries

Everytime you use a domain name, the computer needs to translate it into an IP address. It is difficult for one single computer to perform all the translations of all the possible domain names in the whole world! As a result, there are many DNS servers forming a hierarchy to translate domain names to IP addresses.

Everything starts with root DNS servers . A DNS root server does not know everything, but it knows who else may know something. For example, a DNS root server may know who else knows about the top level domain .edu. The DNS server (no longer root!) who knows .edu knows who else knows .losrios.edu, and that server in return knows who else knows .arc.losrios.edu, which returns the IP address of power.arc.losrios.edu.