DSN (Domain Name System)

WHAT IS DNS? First and foremost the Domain Name System (DNS) helps users to find their way around the internet. Every computer on the Internet has a unique address ( just like a telephone number ) which is a rather complicated string of numbers. It is called its "IP address" which stands for Internet Protocol. (The Domain Name System: A Non-Technical Explanation – Why Universal Resolvability Is Important, 2002). 

WHAT IS DNS? Most people in today's society do not know how the internet actually works. It works similarly like the telephone system where when you dial a number it rings at a particular time because there is a central numbering plan that ensures that each telephone number is unique but instead of it connecting to a person it connects to a website. If telephone numbers or domain names were not internationally unique, phone calls or e-mails intended for one person might go to the wrong person with the same number or domain name. Without being distinctive both systems would be unreliable as it may connect to the wrong number or domain name.(The Domain Name System: A Non-Technical Explanation – Why Universal Resolvability Is Important, 2002). 

SIZE OF THE DNS "DNS originated in the early days of the Internet when the Internet was a small network established by the United States Department of Defense for research purposes. The need for a new system, which would offer features such as scalability, decentralized administration, support for various data types, became more and more obvious. The Domain Name System introduced in 1984 became this new system. With DNS, the host names reside in a database that can be distributed among multiple servers, decreasing the load on any one server and providing the ability to administer this naming system on a per-partition basis. DNS supports hierarchical names and allows registration of various data types in addition to host name to IP address mapping used in HOSTS files. Because the DNS database is distributed, its potential size is unlimited and performance is not degraded when more servers are added." (How DNS Works, 2003) 

SIZE OF THE DNS The size of the Domain Name System is huge as there are many websites on the internet and there are new ones being made every day and "its potential size is unlimited" as it does not slow down the performance of the internet if servers are also added. There are three components of the Domain Name System. These are the: Resolver Name Server Resource Records

RESOLVER It is responsible for initiating and sequencing the queries that ultimately lead to a full resolution (translation) of the resource sought, e.g. translation of a domain name into an IP address. (DSN Resolvers, 2011) This means that a resolver is a DNS server that looks up DNS records which determines the servers IP address.

NAME SERVER Name Server: A DNS name server is a server that stores the DNS records, such as address records, name server records, and mail exchanger records for a domain name and responds with answers to queries against its database. (Domain Name System, 2011) The meaning of this is that it tells the Internet programs where to go by translating the domain name into an Internet (IP) address. 

RESOURCE RECORDS Resource Records: Resource Records define data types in the Domain Name System. (DNS Resource Records, 2006) The name server is related to the resolver where the name server attends to all the queries of its zone (DNS is split into different zones). The resolver is related to the name server as it will send requests to the name servers to return information requested by the user. "The requesting computer tries to connect to the name server using its IP address rather than the name." DNS (2011)

PURPOSE OF THE DNS The goal of the Domain Name System is for any internet user in the world to be able to get to any specific website IP address by typing in its domain name. Domain names are also used for internet applications and to reach email addresses. (The Domain Name System: A Non-Technical Explanation – Why Universal Resolvability Is Important, 2002). I personally feel that the main function of the DNS is for the internet to run as smoothly as possible without any delays to ensure that connecting to websites or communicating with each other is very fast and effective.

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE DNS There are several rules that affect the Domain Name System. The main rule is that the no domain name can ever be identical as I stated before a domain name is like a telephone number and is unique where a number can never be the same. For example “There can only be one "harrods.com". The word "Harrods" could however be registered under one of the country domains. Thus along with "harrods.com", "harrods.co.uk" can also be used as a domain name. In addition, variations on the name "harrods.com" can be registered, for example "harr0ds.com" or harrods1.com. The permutations are limited only by the imagination.” (Domain names and Trade marks: What’s in a name? , 2011) This means that there could be someone that is purposely trying to imitate another person/company for the own gains. Another way a dispute could happen is where a third party intentionally registers a domain name knowing that someone else will want it. As was the case with "windows95.com". This domain name was registered by a student in Utah. The intention may be to hold the company or business who wants to use the domain name to ransom, and demand financial reward for giving up the name. Another example is where "Mcdonalds.com" was registered by a journalist, Mr Quittner in 1994. To get the name back, McDonalds had to make a donation for computer equipment for a primary school. (Domain names and Trade marks: What’s in a name? , 2011) 

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE DNS The .uk registry is administered by Nominet, a not-for-profit company based in Oxford, England. Nominet acts not just as the .uk registry, but also as the .uk dispute resolution service provider. The Nominet procedure is inexpensive and efficient, and decision-making tends to be reasonable. However, the procedure is by not perfect as the outcomes can occasionally seem unfair. However the fact that they use a "distinct set of rules governing .uk domains (and a distinct dispute resolute procedure) means that, where a dispute involves other domain name extensions as well, there is extra expense." (Introduction to .uk domain disputes, 2006). This suggests that most cases are dealt with in the correct manner and procedure as not every decision can always be correct due to human nature. 

LIMITATIONS IPv4 is "the fourth revision in the development of the Internet Protocol (IP) and the first version of the protocol to be widely deployed."(IPv4, 2011). IPv4 uses 32-bit (four-byte) addresses, which limits the address space to approximately 4294967296 addresses. However, some address blocks are reserved for special purposes such as private networks (18 million addresses) and multicast addresses (270 million addresses). This reduces the number of addresses that may be allocated for routing on the public Internet. (IPv4, 2011) The most significant limitation is that the Domain Name System sometimes does not operate Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6).  Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a version of the Internet Protocol (IP) intended to succeed Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) as it is running out of space. IPv6 allows up to 2128 addresses, a massive increase from the 232(about 4.3 billion) addresses possible with IPv4, and includes several other improvements. To gain the full benefits of IPv6, most hosts on the Internet will have to deploy this protocol, as well as the networks connecting them, a difficult transition. (IPv6) This means that as the internet expands the need for a bigger server is needed to

CONCLUSION Overall the Domain Name System (DNS) has many rules and regulations that can sometimes be a bit complicated when people want to have the same domain name which can then lead to court action. However there haven’t been that many circumstances where this has happened and I therefore think that the positives highly outweigh the negatives as without the DNS the internet would not be how it is today. The way communication has improved immensely since 1984 (the year it was first introduced) is a big factor in while it is still in use today as the performance of it is not being slowed down at all and its potential is truly unlimited.

BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.juicedcode.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/The-Importance-of-DNS-and-IP-Address.jpg - The Domain Name System: A Non-Technical Explanation – Why Universal Resolvability Is Important (5th October 2002). Retrieved 21st November 2011, fromhttp://www.internic.net/faqs/authoritative-dns.html - How DNS Works (23rd March 2003). Retrieved 22nd November 2011, from http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc772774(WS.10).aspx#w2k3tr_dns_how_ceap - DNS Resolvers (30th November 2011). Retrieved 30th November 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System#DNS_resolvers  - Domain Name System (27th November 2011). Retrieved 30th November 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_server - DNS Resource Records (12th November 2006). Retrieved 1st December 2011, from http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk648/tk362/technologies_tech_note09186a0080094727.shtml  DNS (2011). Retrieved 23rd November 2011, from http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/networking/cert/netdns.html - Domain names and Trade marks: What’s in a name? ( 1st December 2011). Retrieved 1st December 2011, from http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/it&law/ch4_main.htm -Introduction to .uk domain disputes (September 2006). Retrieved 1st December 2011, from http://www.website-law.co.uk/resources/nominet.html - IPv4 (3rd December 2011). Retrieved 4th December 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv4 IPv6 (2011) . Retrieved 3rd January 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6