We all know and use domain names to find the websites we want to go to. They are the text versions (www.inodecloud.com) of the Internet Protocol addresses (IP) that locate the content we want to find. The concept is pretty simple – domain name systems (DNS) are registries that link textual domain names to numerical IP addresses like a phone book – but DNS can be applied in ways that make websites accessible in ways that take technical and regional differences into account.
Before we move on to application of DNS you should know a few things about how they work. There are several factors like aliases (CNAME), reverse DNS lookups and zone based registration that make DNS protocols powerful tools for consumers and providers.
DNS Zone Authority
Zone authority is the system that Domains use to delegate space to subdomains that are found at the same location (IP address). Your IP address is tailored to your domain name and changes as new pages are added to your website. For example, individual IP addresses begin at 0.0.0 (root host which can be your computer or your ISP’s root server) and grow as new locations are added to server space. A zone is a portion of your IP address that is reserved for subdomains that require autonomy.
CNAME
Aliases are used in conjunction with search engine optimization. They are additional domain names that link to the same address. Aliases can serve several purposes like accounting for misspelled domain names and increasing your search engine ranking. Platforms like Interworks come with tools for adding aliases to your domain. Otherwise you could actually purchase additional domains that link to your website.
Reverse DNS Lookup
Web administrators and marketers use reverse DNS lookups to link IP addresses with domain names or other associated information. Interworks, Google Analytics and other tools can provide information to administrators that tell them the location and even operating system of computers that access your website.
One well known use of DNS protocols in Netflix. Netflix has several IP addresses that link to different collections of movies that are customized for each country. When a computer accesses Netflix’s server from a certain location, they are directed to the most relevant Domain Name System which sends them to the local Netflix server. DNS protocols can be used for customer service as well as security wherever location is a factor.
