InetDaemon.Com

The Domain Name Service (DNS) protocol provides a distributed name resolution service. We need DNS because we humans have trouble remembering the numerical IP addresses of computers, so we let the computers running Domain Name Service perform the name lookup, changing a computer's name into the IP addressees computers need to communicate. Domain Name Service (DNS) is the mechanism used to translate the name of a computer into computer's IP address. DNS is provided by a special computer (a server) running DNS software such as Berkeley's Internet Name Daemon (BIND), Microsoft DNS or another DNS server application. Using DNS your web browser can translate an Internet domain name such as www.inetdaemon.com, into an IP address where the website is located. DNS servers provide this translation by performing a 'lookup'. When they lookup a name and return an address, it is referred to as forward DNS lookup. Domain Name Service can also translate IP addresses into domain names which is called reverse DNS lookup.

THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM

• Domains
  • Top Level Domains
    • Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLD's)
  • Second Level
  • Sub-Domains
• DNS Hierarchy
  • Root NIC
  • Root DNS servers
  • Delegation
• Zones
• DNS Servers
  • DNS Server Types
    • Authoritative
      • Master
      • Slave
    • Non-Authoritative
    • Caching / Recursive Servers
    • Iterative Servers
  • DNS Server Functions
    • Resolution
      • Forward
      • Reverse (in-addr.arpa)
      • Round Robin
    • Delegation
    • Caching
    • Zone Transfers
• DNS Resolution
  • Delegation
  • Forward
  • Reverse [ in-addr.arpa ]
  • Iterative
  • Recursive
  • Round-Robin Resolution
  • Split DNS (aka Split-brain DNS)
• DNS Configuration
  • Zone Files
  • Resource Records (Forward)
    • Start of Authority Record / SOA Record
    • Nameserver Record / NS Record
    • Address Record / A Record
    • Mail Exchanger Record / MX Record
    • Canonical Name Record / CNAME Record
  • Resource Records (Reverse/in-addr.arpa)
    • PTR Records
• DNS Registrars
• DNS Shared Registration System
• DNS Domain Registration

CONFIGURING DNS

Configuring Berkeley Internet Name Daemon (BIND 8 & 9)

• namedb (contains the following files)
  • named.root
  • named.conf
  • named.pid
• Advanced Configurations
  • Split DNS
  • Hidden Master

Microsoft DNS

• DNS Administrative Control Panel
• Active Directory with Integrated DNS