Domain Name System

See also: URL | ICANN | IPv4 | IPv6 | OpenNIC

Acronym: Domain Naming Service

From DNS Resources Directory:

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierachical, domain based, distributed Internet directory service. DNS is used mostly to translate between domain names and IP addresses, and to control Internet email delivery. Most Internet services rely on DNS to work, and if DNS fails, web sites cannot be located and email delivery stalls.

Some believe that ICANN the organisation responsible for the management of the legacy DNS technology is using its power to preserve a monopoly on its service provision.

Web servers host multiple web sites so most active domain names share their IP addresses with one or more additional domains, while more than two thirds of domain names share their IPs with fifty or more domains.

Trademarks disputes over the DNS are continuing, some people don't register the names they use in the domain name.

Over time there have been effort to decentralize and democratize the provision of the service:

OpenNIC

an auxilliary domain name system, democratically controlled.

Distributed DNS

is a P2P software that aims to build a decentralized, distributed DNS.

Related Links

• DNSRD: What is DNS?
• Whois search - to determine the owner of a registered domain.
• Arachnoid.com Whois - An easy to access list of whois'
• UWhois - For Whois information about country-code (two-letter) top-level domains.
• DNS News - Current headlines related to DNS.
• DNS Resources Directory - Contains a good introduction and further references.
• Problems, Goals and a Fix for Domain Names - by Brad Templeton

This article is based on a public domain infoAnarchy article: DNS

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