From IP Addresses, Domain Names to SEXY DNS Servers

Ben Lee from Integricity Technology (the most geeky division of Integricity!) explains to us the difference between IP addresses, domain names, and domain name servers.

1) IP address

Every computer which connects to the internet will have an IP address, but what exactly is it? Think of it as you would of a home address. An IP address typically comes in a set of 4 number strings, and looks like this: 64.233.181.104. Each set can be from the numbers 0 to 255. This is unique, and there are no two same IP address in the world! Learn more.

2) Domain name

A domain name is a name registered by someone. Why register one? Because you feel unique when you register that domain name, knowing that no one else can have the same domain name, that no one else can take it away from you, having that warm feeling inside knowing you’re special, one-of-a-kind…

Well, it doesn’t start like that. Let’s say you would like to surf the web. First you would need to connect to a server, where websites are stored. It could be your internet provider’s server / your company’s server / anyone’s server… Heck, even your pet dog’s server – if I asked you to connect to that server by keying in the IP addresses of each server, wouldn’t it be such a hassle to remember all those numbers? And think of all the kids out there who can’t count… =(

The bunch of smart people who created the Internet thought of that too, and so they created domain names! Yep, domain names are pretty much naming your IP addresses. These days, one IP address can hold soo many domain names too with the help of Corporate Shared Hosting. So, yes, the Internet is made simpler because of domain names.

3) Domain Name Servers (DNS)

Think of a domain name server as a Librarian hired as a traffic police. Because domain names are mere names, and there are SOO MANY DOMAIN NAMES OUT THERE (Yep, I bet you can’t remember all the domain names out there), you’d obviously want someone to help you with them. And that is where Librarians, um, domain name servers (DNS) come into play. Like Librarians, DNS know where to point you to when you are searching for a server and all you have is a domain name. They contain the records of the IP address allocated to the particular domain name, and their job is direct you to the right website you want to visit. Learn more.

SUMMARY:

Think of different domain name extensions like .my / .kr / .hk / .com . These extensions are like genres. Each of these domain name extensions have their own sexy librarians to direct traffic. Why have more librarians? Let’s say .my domain names are “Science Fiction” and .com.my is “Pop Science Fiction”. You ask the Head librarian where .my domain names are. She will lead you to the isle where Science Fictions are stored. There, Lady Sci-fi Librarian will then lead you to Pop Science Fiction isle. Now, again you will reach another DNS, however this DNS is different. This DNS is created by you. It is a DNS server which you use to point the end of the search for your UNIQUE DOMAIN NAME. So, if you type thezock.com.my in your address bar, the last DNS server points you to your final destination. Yes, these Librarians read from right to left. =P

When changing Domain Name Servers or Details or where a domain name points to from your DNS. It would take some time to propagate.

WHY? YOU SAY WHY?

BECAUSE THERE ARE SOOO MANY DNS SERVERS OUT THERE. When you change the location of your books/domain names on the shelves, the Librarians are gonna have to take some time to tell everyone else what has happened.

DAZ WHY..!

And yes, it is an internet protocol.

Oh, by the way, even your internet provider uses DNS, which you also use when you connect to the Internet. But this is for another day…