DNS overcomes both major weaknesses of the host table:
DNS scales well. It doesn't rely on a single large table; it is a distributed database system that doesn't bog down as the database grows. DNS currently provides information on approximately 100,000,000 hosts, while fewer than 10,000 were listed in the host table.
DNS guarantees that new host information will be disseminated to the rest of the network as it is needed.
Information is automatically disseminated, and only to those who are interested. Here's how it works. If a DNS server receives a request for information about a host for which it has no information, it passes on the request to an authoritative server. An authoritative server is any server responsible for maintaining accurate information about the domain being queried. When the authoritative server answers, the local server saves, or caches, the answer for future use. The next time the local server receives a request for this information, it answers the request itself. The ability to control host information from an authoritative source and to automatically disseminate accurate information makes DNS superior to the host table, even for networks not connected to the Internet.
In addition to superseding the host table, DNS also replaces an earlier form of name service. Unfortunately, both the old and new services were called name service. Both are listed in the /etc/services file. In that file, the old software is assigned UDP port 42 and is called nameserver or name; DNS name service is assigned port 53 and is called domain. Naturally, there is some confusion between the two name servers. There shouldn't be—the old name service is outdated. This text discusses DNS only; when we refer to "name service," we always mean DNS.
DNS scales well. It doesn't rely on a single large table; it is a distributed database system that doesn't bog down as the database grows. DNS currently provides information on approximately 100,000,000 hosts, while fewer than 10,000 were listed in the host table.
DNS guarantees that new host information will be disseminated to the rest of the network as it is needed.
Information is automatically disseminated, and only to those who are interested. Here's how it works. If a DNS server receives a request for information about a host for which it has no information, it passes on the request to an authoritative server. An authoritative server is any server responsible for maintaining accurate information about the domain being queried. When the authoritative server answers, the local server saves, or caches, the answer for future use. The next time the local server receives a request for this information, it answers the request itself. The ability to control host information from an authoritative source and to automatically disseminate accurate information makes DNS superior to the host table, even for networks not connected to the Internet.
In addition to superseding the host table, DNS also replaces an earlier form of name service. Unfortunately, both the old and new services were called name service. Both are listed in the /etc/services file. In that file, the old software is assigned UDP port 42 and is called nameserver or name; DNS name service is assigned port 53 and is called domain. Naturally, there is some confusion between the two name servers. There shouldn't be—the old name service is outdated. This text discusses DNS only; when we refer to "name service," we always mean DNS.
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