Understanding DNS

Gordon

I'm wondering if someone could point me to a good online article that explains in idiots terms how DNS works. Someone (blacknight?) linked to a nice image of the domain lifecycly, maybe there is one for DNS.

What I am lacking in knowledge on is this:

I have hosting somewhere and have bought a domain elsewhere. I want to point the domain to the hosting. I know I have to change the domain DNS to the hosting companies DNS but I don't understand the link.

The domain totters off to the new DNS server:

www.domain.com -->> dns1.hostingaccount.com

How does the dns1.hostingaccount.com go to my hosting account --> gordon.hostingplace?

ntlbell

If you do find one, I think Steve McCarron is also looking for something simmilar

macrubicon

To have a registered domain you must have 2 DNS Servers - 1 active as the Master for the Zone ( the Domain name in effect - a zone includes all sub-domains etc ) and a secondary which takes an authoratitive feed from the master.

These 2 DNS servers are the listed "contacts" for any queries to your domain with the Top Level Domain (TLD) for your domain type ( i.e. .com, .net, .ie can all have different TLD registries )

Most Domain registries will offer a Domain hosting system where they look after all of this.

What it looks like you need to do is change the DNS' registered with the TLD for those with your hosting company -or- use the ones you got with the domain registration to add in a record for www or whatever to point to the IP of your hosting site.

Feelgood

How Stuff Works

Gordon

macrubicon wrote: »

To have a registered domain you must have 2 DNS Servers - 1 active as the Master for the Zone ( the Domain name in effect - a zone includes all sub-domains etc ) and a secondary which takes an authoratitive feed from the master.

These 2 DNS servers are the listed "contacts" for any queries to your domain with the Top Level Domain (TLD) for your domain type ( i.e. .com, .net, .ie can all have different TLD registries )

Most Domain registries will offer a Domain hosting system where they look after all of this.

What it looks like you need to do is change the DNS' registered with the TLD for those with your hosting company -or- use the ones you got with the domain registration to add in a record for www or whatever to point to the IP of your hosting site.

OK so:

TLD -> DNS -> Hosting company

So the tld goes via the DNS to the hosting company, but how does the hosting company know to put whoever comes from www.gordon.com to go to my hosting account as opposed to someone elses hosting account on the same DNS server?

ntlbell

Gordon wrote: »

OK so:

TLD -> DNS -> Hosting company

So the tld goes via the DNS to the hosting company, but how does the hosting company know to put whoever comes from www.gordon.com to go to my hosting account as opposed to someone elses hosting account on the same DNS server?

I think you're getting a bit confused Gordon.

If you boil the DNS down to NAME to IP Adress and vice versa, that's all that's happening.

Gordan.com Where does he live?

He lives in 82.x.x.x

Great thanks i'll feck off there so.

The browser is now asking a webserver for gordon.com whch will be a v-host on the server and it's the web servers job to give the user the correct "site" or "account"

I think we're on the same page now

macrubicon

Gordon wrote: »

OK so:

TLD -> DNS -> Hosting company

So the tld goes via the DNS to the hosting company, but how does the hosting company know to put whoever comes from www.gordon.com to go to my hosting account as opposed to someone elses hosting account on the same DNS server?

The hosting compnay has to set up the Master and slave DNS zones on their servers for it...

So think about it this way....

You try to go to "www.domain.com".
Your browser checks it's cache - not there.
Your browser asks the PC to help out.
Your PC asks it's "ISP" DNS servers for www.domain.com
The "ISP" has no idea about domain.com, but knows who Root Servers are. ( there is a helper file on DNS Servers for what are known as Root Servers - in essence the top level DNS resolution).
The Root Servers point your ISP's DNS to the TLD Servers for .com.
Your ISP's DNS asks .com for the DNS servers for domain.com
Your ISP's DNS gets told that 1.1.1.1 ( for example ) is the DNS server for domain.com - this is the key bit.
Your ISP's DNS asks 1.1.1.1 who is www.domain.com and gets back 1.1.1.2.
www.domain.com = 1.1.1.2 is added to your ISP's DNS cache.
Your ISP returns 1.1.1.2 to your PC and browser.

They key here is having the TLD for your domain knowing where to go.

If you want to move your DNS, wherever you move to needs to set up this service for you.

If the DNS Service is hosted for you, you need to add in a record to point www.domain.com to the right place. There is no issue in having the DNS in the US and pointing to an Irish hosting company, as long as the DNS record is in there and the hosting company know what to do with a request for www.domain.com ( ususally just a vhost entry... )

Gordon

macrubicon wrote: »

The hosting compnay has to set up the Master and slave DNS zones on their servers for it...

So think about it this way....

You try to go to "www.domain.com".
Your browser checks it's cache - not there.
Your browser asks the PC to help out.
Your PC asks it's "ISP" DNS servers for www.domain.com
The "ISP" has no idea about domain.com, but knows who Root Servers are. ( there is a helper file on DNS Servers for what are known as Root Servers - in essence the top level DNS resolution).
The Root Servers point your ISP's DNS to the TLD Servers for .com.
Your ISP's DNS asks .com for the DNS servers for domain.com
Your ISP's DNS gets told that 1.1.1.1 ( for example ) is the DNS server for domain.com - this is the key bit.
Your ISP's DNS asks 1.1.1.1 who is www.domain.com and gets back 1.1.1.2.
www.domain.com = 1.1.1.2 is added to your ISP's DNS cache.
Your ISP returns 1.1.1.2 to your PC and browser.

They key here is having the TLD for your domain knowing where to go.

If you want to move your DNS, wherever you move to needs to set up this service for you.

If the DNS Service is hosted for you, you need to add in a record to point www.domain.com to the right place. There is no issue in having the DNS in the US and pointing to an Irish hosting company, as long as the DNS record is in there and the hosting company know what to do with a request for www.domain.com ( ususally just a vhost entry... )

Gah, so complicated, I think I get it now though! Basically I'm missing a link at the very end where the hosting account needs to know to accept the domain name. It's rather tricky to find out with this host so I'll just send them an email.

Many thanks for the help everyone, I'm a bit slow

stakey

Alot of hosting companies will tie the hosting control panel they use into their DNS servers as such it might be as easy as logging into your hosting control panel and adding the domain name to the control panel to setup the domain on those nameservers.

Webmonkey

This should give you an idea of the DNS System anyways. Uploaded it especially...

http://killarneyonline.eu/dns/