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The TCP/IP Guide  9  TCP/IP Application Layer Protocols, Services and Applications (OSI Layers 5, 6 and 7)       9  Name Systems and TCP/IP Name Registration and Name Resolution            9  TCP/IP Name Systems: Host Tables and Domain Name System (DNS)                 9  TCP/IP Domain Name System (DNS)                      9  DNS Name Servers and Name Resolution                           9  DNS Resolution Concepts and Resolver Operations

DNS Resolver Functions and General Operation 1 2 3 4 DNS Name Resolution Efficiency Improvements: Caching and Local Resolution

Conventional name resolution transforms a DNS name into an IP address. At the highest level, this process can be considered to have two phases. In the first phase, we locate a DNS name server that has the information we need: the address that goes with a particular name. In the second phase, we send that server a request containing the name we want to resolve, and it sends back the address required.

Somewhat ironically, the second phase (the actual mapping of the name into an address) is fairly simple. It is the first phase—finding the right server—that is potentially difficult, and comprises most of the work in DNS name resolution. While perhaps surprising, this is a predictable result of how DNS is structured. Name information in DNS is not centralized, but rather distributed throughout a hierarchy of servers, each of which is responsible for one zone in the DNS name space. This means we have to follow a special sequence of steps to let us find the server that has the information we need.

The formal process of name resolution parallels the tree-like hierarchy of the DNS name space, authorities and servers. Resolution of a particular DNS name starts with the most general part of the name, and proceeds from it to the most specific part. Naturally, the most general part of every name is the root of the DNS tree, represented in a name as a trailing “dot”, sometimes omitted. The next most-specific part is the top-level domain, then the second-level domain and so forth. The DNS name servers are “linked” in that the DNS server at one level knows the name of the servers that are responsible for subdomains in zones below it at the next level.

Suppose we start with the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) “C.B.A.”. Formally, every name resolution begins with the root of the tree—this is why the root name servers are so important. It's possible that the root name servers are authoritative for this name, but probably not; that's not what the root name servers are usually used for. What the root name server does know is the name of the server responsible for the top-level domain, “A.”.

The name server for “A.” in turn may have the information to resolve “C.B.A.” It's still fairly high-level, though, so “C.B.A” is probably not directly within its zone. In that case, it will not know the address we seek, but it will know the name of the server responsible for “B.A.”. In turn, that name server may be authoritative for “C.B.A.”, or it may just know the address of the server for “C.B.A.”, which will have the information we need. As you can see, it is very possible that several different servers may be needed in a name resolution.

DNS Resolver Functions and General Operation 1 2 3 4 DNS Name Resolution Efficiency Improvements: Caching and Local Resolution