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How Web Pages Retrieve from Web Server

Page 3 : Domain Name System (DNS)

After you hit the Enter button, your computer will send a request to your ISP Domain Name Server which is configurated in your computer modem.

Domain Name System (DNS)

The URL, http://www.myfriend.com/ourdate.html, is very easy for you to remember, but how about the computers ? The computers can only read data, they know nothing about http://www.myfriend.com/ourdate.html.

Don't worry, human beings are very clever. To solve this probem, the DNS is introduced. The Domain Name Server can translate domain name (for example, myfriend.com) into numerical IP address (like 199.58.186.102), which computers on the Internet use to communicate with each other.

Most, but not all, ISP will set up and maintain the DNS information for their customers.

Hey, Let's Other Computer Understand You

While the server is checking the numerical IP address for the host (myfriend.com), the request begain to worry again. The request talk to the server "What if your table do not contain my required IP address ?" The server said "Don't worry, my table contain the information of most of my friends around the world. In case I cannot find a IP address in my table, I can ask my mother (another server) for help. If my mother also don't know, she will ask my grandmother ( another server)...etc..

Finally, the IP address of destination host was found. And the domain address is translated into numerical IP address. Therefore, the domain address can communicated with other computers while travel over the Internet to the destination. The numerical IP address was sent back to your computer so that the request can find the host server.

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