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Lesson 3 of 3

DNS & Domain Names

How domain names translate to IP addresses

DNS & Domain Names

DNS (Domain Name System) is like the internet's phone book.

Why DNS Exists

Computers use IP addresses like 142.250.190.46 but humans prefer names like google.com. DNS translates between them.

How DNS Works

  1. You type example.com
  2. Browser checks its cache
  3. If not found, asks your ISP's DNS server
  4. DNS server looks up the IP address
  5. Returns: 93.184.216.34
  6. Browser connects to that IP

Domain Structure

https://www.example.com/page
  │      │      │     │
  │      │      │     └── Path
  │      │      └── Domain name
  │      └── Subdomain
  └── Protocol

TLDs (Top-Level Domains)

  • .com - Commercial
  • .org - Organizations
  • .net - Network
  • .io - Popular with tech startups