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Encyclopedia: DNS Terminology

All basic actions of users on the Internet such as opening a website and browsing through its pages are actually executed by the Domain Name System, much more popular as DNS. Why is DNS so crucial for the World Wide Web? Why is it important to be familiar with the way DNS works for having a successful online presence? From this section of our NTC Hosting Encyclopedia you will get in-depth knowledge about the basic elements of the Domain Name System and will also get basic skills in managing the DNS side of your own web presence.

DNS

The Domain Name System, better known as DNS, represents a powerful Internet technology for converting domain names to their corresponding IP addresses.

Change DNS

Changing the name servers of a certain domain is necessary when its owner switches to a new hosting provider and is done to prevent his/her website from going offline.

Custom DNS Records

Having this service enabled users can apply changes to the most commonly used DNS records for their hosts through an intuitive and easy to use Custom DNS Records manager.

Default DNS

Setting up wildcard DNS records (aka default DNS) to hostnames allows for all queried host addresses with no IP records created for them to point to a certain address.

DNS Alias

With a DNS Alias domain owners can control the subdomains they create by pointing them to other domains or subdomains as per their needs.

DNS Check

By performing a DNS check through specific web-based tools domain owners can obtain useful information about the DNS delegation and DNS server entries for their particular domain names.

DNS CNAME Record

CNAME DNS records are responsible for making a DNS server resolve multiple domain names to one and the same IP address.

DHCP

It deals with assigning unique dynamic IP addresses and their corresponding subnet mask and default gateway to TCP/IP running computers within a certain server network.

DNS Forwarding

This service helps users speed up the domain/host name resolution process, by enabling them to re-direct the queries for a certain non-resolvable address to alternative name servers.

DNS Host Record

Also known as an A record, the DNS host is a record in the zone file of a domain that connects the domain with its matching IP address.

DNS Hosting

Through the DNS hosting service domain owners can have full control over their websites, by applying various changes to the DNS settings assigned to their domains.

IP Address

IP addresses are the real numeric addresses of websites that the DNS servers translate domain names/hostnames to by executing various DNS resolution requests.

DNS Lookup

This is the process of locating the IP address that a certain domain name is associated with through a web-based DNS lookup tool.

DNS Management

This refers to the possibility for domain name owners to have control over their domains' DNS settings through a specific web-based DNS management interface.

Static DNS

This refers to the static names servers you get by default when hosting your domain names on free or commercial servers.

Custom NS Records

Custom NS records refer to the possibility for domain owners to edit the NS records of their domains. The NS records' main mission is to identify the primary and secondary DNS servers for a domain.

AAAA Records

AAAA records are one of the basic DNS record types, responsible for converting hostnames into their corresponding IP addresses. They store 128-bit IP addresses supported by the IPv6 system.

DNS Registration

Registering name servers is absolutely necessary for starting a website under your own domain. Web hosts usually assign their name servers to users' domains by default.

DNS server

DNS servers, an integral part of the Domain Name System, execute the conversion of domain names into their corresponding IP addresses.

DNS Server Setup

Setting up a DNS server for their private home network users can centralize the management of host information and track the host files for all clients in their network.

DNS Service

This service empowers users to name their websites the way they like, using user-friendly alpha-numeric domain names instead of the websites' real numeric system names (IP addresses).

DNS Settings

Also popular as DNS records, the DNS settings allow users to access their websites and emails through their own unique domain names. They can be administered through a specific DNS Management interface.

DNS Software

Using up-to-date DNS software versions to map alpha-numeric Internet domains to their matching numeric IP addresses is crucial for the companies' online availability and success.

DNS Tools

A variety of web-based DNS tools that can provide users with useful DNS information about their domain names, which is otherwise hidden from the public Internet space.

DNS TTL

This refers to the amount of time that a DNS record for a certain host remains in the cache memory of a DNS server after the server has located the host's matching IP address.

DNS Zone

A DNS zone represents a certain portion or administrative space within the global Domain Name System. The total of all DNS zones form the DNS namespace.

Managed DNS

With managed DNS services at hand users can change their domain names' DNS settings the way they like at any time, without needing to rely on third-party service providers for that.

Multiple DNS

With more than one name server (a DNS record type) set to their domain names domain owners will ensure redundancy and round-the-clock availability for their websites.

Primary DNS / Secondary DNS

These are the two basic types of name servers - primary DNS (master name server) and secondary DNS (slave name server), which are generally applied to each newly registered domain.

Reverse DNS

The reverse DNS lookup service deals with translating the numeric addresses of websites - IP addresses, to their user-friendly names - domain/host names.

Setup DNS

Domain owners will need to perform certain DNS setup actions every time they decide to change the host of their website or simply point it to another server.

SRV Records

Standing for Service records, SRV Records represent a data category in the Domain Name System that localizes specific domain related services such as FTP and SIP.

TXT Records

TXT records differ from the other DNS records in that they are used for informative purposes mainly. In TXT records you can store various details about your domain, including the host name, contact details, etc.