domain name system

1 definition found

domain name system - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  Domain Name System
  name service switching
  
     <networking> (DNS) A general-purpose distributed, replicated,
     data query service chiefly used on Internet for translating
     hostnames into Internet addresses.  Also, the style of
     hostname used on the Internet, though such a name is
     properly called a fully qualified domain name.  DNS can be
     configured to use a sequence of name servers, based on the
     domains in the name being looked for, until a match is found.
  
     The name resolution client (e.g. Unix's gethostbyname()
     library function) can be configured to search for host
     information in the following order: first in the local hosts file
     , second in NIS and third in DNS.  This sequencing of
     Naming Services is sometimes called "name service switching".
     Under Solaris is configured in the file /etc/nsswitch.conf.
  
     DNS can be queried interactively using the command nslookup.
     It is defined in STD 13, RFC 1034, RFC 1035, RFC 1591.
  
     BIND is a common DNS server.
  
     Info from Virtual Office, Inc. (http://virtual.office.com/domains.html)
     .
  
     (2001-05-14)