Domain Name System High Level Review

As a class assignment I had to explore what the Domain Name System is and write up a small discussion about it on our class blog. This write up is not an in-depth review, it is simply a cursory overview.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is analogous to a telephone directory for the Internet. It translates domain names like www.google.com to a string of numbers called an Internet Protocol or IP address such as as 2607:f8b0:4001:c00::63 (Google’s IP address) and visa-versa. It is a critical component or infrastructure of the Internet. Almost all applications that operate on the Internet utilize the Domain Name System. It is also known as a translation system. It is a simple but sophisticated system. A single root server in 2012 was capable of handling up to 400 billion address translation or look-up requests per day. Every time an individual wishes to access a website, the Doman Name System is the primary tool used to complete that request. The Domain Name System is also a decentralized system. No single server of computer controls the system. The look-up table is spread across at least 13 root servers. The geo-spatial location of the servers is kept secret for security purposes. However we do know some information about the nature of the servers. They use a tree like hierarchy. The root server is unnamed. Below it are the top level servers. In 1998 seven top level domains were created:

.com - commercial

.org - organization

.net - network

.int - international organizations

.edu - U.S. higher education

.gov - U.S. national and state government

.mil - military

And one Infrastructure top level domain named .arpa.

Numerous 2 letter country codes are also created around this time.

The Domain Name System was design in 1983 by Paul Mockapetris. Prior to the DNS, Internet name spaces where resolved through a central location using a single table called HOST.TXT. As the Internet grew and the number of hosts expanded, the ability of the HOST.TXT table to do its job became strained. A new system was needed, and it had to be decentralized. It was too cumbersome and inefficient to rely on a single file that had to be continuously updated and transmitted to the various shareholders. So the DNS concept was born as a solution to the bottle neck HOST.TXT had become.

The DNS system is not perfect. The issues with the DNS fall into organizational, technical, integrity & security, structural, political, and governance issues. The future of the DNS is driven by the pressures from these issues. Some of the major changes to the DNS in the future include support for Chinese characters, Non-Latin Characters, enhanced Unicode support, the addition of new top level domains such as .xxx for the adult entertainment industry, total or partial conversion to the IPv6 standard, DNS fragmentation (alternative DNS), critical levels of third-party registrar corruption, changes to the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Dispute Policy, and increasing governmental influence. One recent change to the DNS is the decision of the United States to give up its role as the main overseerer of the DNS name space.

References used

Domain Name System. (2014, September 14). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:52, September 17, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Domain_Name_System&oldid=625478761

List of Internet top-level domains. (2014, September 17). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:53, September 17, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Internet_top-level_domains&oldid=625906913

Mockapetris, P. (1988-08-01). Development of the domain name system. Computer communication review, 18(4), 123-133. doi:10.1145/52325.52338

National Telecommunications and Information Administration (2014 14, March). NTIA Announces Intent to Transition Key Internet Domain Name Functions. Retrieved from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/press-release/2014/ntia-announces-intent-transition-key-internet-domain-name-functions

Pope, M., Warkentin, M., Mutchler, L. A., & Luo, X. (2012). The Domain Name System--Past, Present, and Future. Communications Of The Association For Information Systems, 30329-346.