How DNS Translates Domain Names Into IP Addresses Explained

Every internet-connected device is identified by a unique IP address, but users access websites through human-readable domain names, making a translation system necessary. The Domain Name System (DNS) handles this by converting domain names like example.com into the corresponding IP addresses that computers use to communicate. When a browser needs to resolve a domain, it first checks its local cache before sending a query to a recursive resolver, typically operated by an ISP or public services like Google or Cloudflare. The recursive resolver then queries a chain of DNS servers — including root nameservers, Top Level Domain (TLD) nameservers, and authoritative nameservers — until it retrieves the correct IP address. DNS caching at various stages speeds up this process by storing previously resolved results and reducing the number of network requests needed.
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