DNS terms every beginner should know
Here are some DNS terms that will help you manage your domain name as great as possible. As a beginner, it could be really frustrating to learn the complex structure of the Domain Name System (DNS). Yet, let’s start explaining, and everything will become much more clear, and it will make more sense.
DNS
The Domain Name System, or DNS for short, is an essential part of the Internet. It is a global naming database that translates internet domain names to IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. DNS is decentralized and has a multi-level hierarchical structure. Thanks to that system, humans are not required to remember long and difficult numbers (IP addresses) to enter and explore every website. Instead, people are able to type right away the domain name and successfully connect to their desired web page.
Domain name
The domain name is the identifier for a particular website. It is an individual text string used for describing devices or services, such as example.org. Users typically use it and easily remember it rather than its corresponding IP address.
DNS zone
The DNS zone is the administrative segment that the DNS namespace applies. Each DNS zone is managed by a separate DNS administrator. That is why the entire system is considered decentralized. In many cases, a domain and the DNS zone could be considered as the same thing, except that this is not actually accurate. A domain is possible to have only one individual DNS zone, but there are other cases that are usually more common. When a domain holds a number of DNS zones, it is pretty understandable that they are not the same thing.
Inside the DNS zone can be stored various information, which is concerning the DNS records. Additionally, inside the SOA (Start of Authority) record of the DNS zone is stored contact information about the administrator and zone parameters like Refresh and Retry rate.
DNS query
DNS query is one of the DNS terms representing the process of searching the IP address (an A record or an AAAA record) or another DNS record of a domain. Imagine the user who asks for particular information, and it sends exactly a DNS query. Next, the DNS recursive server, after receiving the query, will search for the needed answer. Finally, the recursive server gets back to the user with the wanted data.
DNS record
DNS records are text files that hold information concerning the exact Domain Name System. Every domain has a different amount and diverse DNS record types. They indicate separate entities and settings of a domain. For example, one of them could point to the IP address (A or AAAA record), another could show a specific service, such as the email server responsible for receiving emails (MX record), and many more.
DNS server
There are two fundamental types of DNS servers – authoritative name servers and recursive name servers.
The authoritative name servers keep the zone file of a precise zone. They are able to answer queries. In this type are all the authoritative name servers of every domain, such as TLD servers (like .org, .com, etc.) and Root server (the highest hierarchy level).
Recursive name servers assist in searching for the answer to the DNS query by querying separate servers till they get a response. Thus, they are in the middle between the DNS user and the authoritative name servers.
