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hostnames for a domain, it then contacts that server directly and asks for the specific address for the host name that you are looking for.

Returning to our comparison to a global phone directory, if a person in the United States wanted to make a call to a person in Darwin, Australia, the process would be as follows:

1. The American would call their local phone information number, and ask for the phone number to Jim Bigtoe in Darwin, Australia.

2. The directory services operator, not having the phone number would contact the global phone information center and ask which information center had the phone numbers for Darwin, Australia. The global information center would tell the operator which telephone center had the correct address and phone number.

3. The directory services operator would then contact the Australian phone information center in charge of Darwin, and ask them for the phone number of Jim Bigtoe. If the Australian center had the phone number registered, they would then provide it to the directory services operator.

4. The directory services operator will then tell the original requester the phone number, if it is available, or will let them know that the number is not available.\

5. The requester can then give a call directly to Joe Bigtoe.

This may seem like a long process; however, your computer can generally make these requests and get the answer back in less than 2-3 seconds.

Though address resolution is only one of the myriad of functions that DNS performs, it is also the most critical. Without DNS, the internet would probably not have grown into the information superhighway that has hundreds of millions of users on a daily basis. So the next time you browse for a web site, think about all the different processes that your one 'click' sets into motion.

Learn more about this author, Alan Fernald.
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