Domain Name System: Difference between revisions
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The '''Domain Name System (DNS''') is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any other resources connected to the Internet. See [[How the Domain Name System Works]] for a brief overview of the DNS. See [[Pre-ICANN History of the DNS]] for the development of the DNS in the 20th century. The DNS is a Namespace: a collection of wordstrings organized into a hierarchy of labels. It is a distributed name registration framework that assigns unique licenses to use to human-readable strings for money. It is also distributed database that assigns wordstrings to IP addresses. It is a protocol to resolve wordstrings into an attribute (a singular IP address. It is a signaling medium.<ref>[https://apacdnsforum.my/virtual/180/lobby Geoff Huston, Future of the Domain Name System, APAC DNS Forum 2022]</ref> | The '''Domain Name System (DNS''') is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any other resources connected to the Internet. See [[How the Domain Name System Works]] for a brief overview of the DNS. See [[Pre-ICANN History of the DNS]] for the development of the DNS in the 20th century. The DNS is a Namespace: a collection of wordstrings organized into a hierarchy of labels. It is a distributed name registration framework that assigns unique licenses to use to human-readable strings for money. It is also distributed database that assigns wordstrings to IP addresses. It is a protocol to resolve wordstrings into an attribute (a singular IP address. It is a signaling medium.<ref>[https://apacdnsforum.my/virtual/180/lobby Geoff Huston, Future of the Domain Name System, APAC DNS Forum 2022]</ref> | ||
==DNS Components== | ==DNS Components== | ||
*[[Distributed Database]]: an archive of information about the computers in a network | *[[Distributed Database]]: an archive of information about the computers in a network | ||
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===[[Top-Level Domain|Top-Level Domains]]=== | ===[[Top-Level Domain|Top-Level Domains]]=== | ||
*The DNS maintains a database of top-level domains (TLDs) that can be accessed via the Internet. Top-level domains fall into three broad categories: | *The DNS maintains a database of top-level domains (TLDs) that can be accessed via the Internet. Top-level domains fall into three broad categories: | ||
**[[GTLD|generic TLDs]] (gTLDs); | **[[GTLD|generic TLDs]] (gTLDs); | ||
**[[CcTLD|country code TLDs]] (ccTLDs); and | **[[CcTLD|country code TLDs]] (ccTLDs); and | ||
**[[Internationalized Domain Name|internationalized domain names]] (IDNs) | **[[Internationalized Domain Name|internationalized domain names]] (IDNs) | ||
*[[Registry]] operators maintain the database of registrations for a particular TLD. | *[[Registry]] operators maintain the database of registrations for a particular TLD. | ||
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==Challenges== | ==Challenges== | ||
Continuing the hegemony of the DNS as the Internet means coping with the issues and questions about control ([[Internet Governance|who gets to control it), [[ | Continuing the hegemony of the DNS as the Internet means coping with the issues and questions about control ([[Internet Governance|who gets to control it]]), [[Data Privacy]], [[trust]], [[Internet Fragmentation|fragmentation]], security as a rendezvous tool and a collection of markets, [[DNS Abuse]], [https://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/proceeding/recommendations-for-early-warning-for-root-zone-scaling-05-10-2020 scaling], [https://www.senki.org/network-operations-scaling/dns-latency-and-performance-test-tools/ speed], and the [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3746594 economics]. | ||
Ensuring the resiliency, stability, and security of the DNS is critical to perpetuating the usefulness of the Internet. The DNS has two key types of [[DNS Value and Vulnerability|vulnerabilities]]: complexity and bad actors. | Ensuring the resiliency, stability, and security of the DNS is critical to perpetuating the usefulness of the Internet. The DNS has two key types of [[DNS Value and Vulnerability|vulnerabilities]]: complexity and bad actors. | ||
===Complexity=== | ===Complexity=== | ||
#Cybersecurity experts are concerned about the [[DNS Camel]], which refers to the inexorable growth of DNS protocols over the past three decades, making it increasingly difficult to implement and secure DNS advancements.<ref>[https://www.ietf.org/blog/herding-dns-camel/ Herding the DNS Camel. IETF Blog]</ref> | #Cybersecurity experts are concerned about the [[DNS Camel]], which refers to the inexorable growth of DNS protocols over the past three decades, making it increasingly difficult to implement and secure DNS advancements.<ref>[https://www.ietf.org/blog/herding-dns-camel/ Herding the DNS Camel. IETF Blog]</ref> | ||
#As the number and kind of TLDs continue to expand, [[Universal Acceptance]] becomes an increasingly important topic. | #As the number and kind of TLDs continue to expand, [[Universal Acceptance]] becomes an increasingly important topic. | ||
===Bad Actors=== | ===Bad Actors=== | ||
#Internet governance organizations, registries, registrars, and the business constituency are very concerned about [[DNS Abuse]], which refers to the exploitation of the DNS for malicious purposes. In particular, a debate rages over where technical abuse ends and where content abuse begins.<ref>[https://comlaude.com/domain-name-abuse-and-corporate-domain-management/ Domain Name Abuse, Com Laude]</ref> | #Internet governance organizations, registries, registrars, and the business constituency are very concerned about [[DNS Abuse]], which refers to the exploitation of the DNS for malicious purposes. In particular, a debate rages over where technical abuse ends and where content abuse begins.<ref>[https://comlaude.com/domain-name-abuse-and-corporate-domain-management/ Domain Name Abuse, Com Laude]</ref> | ||
==Associated Bodies== | ==Associated Bodies== | ||
[[ICANN]] exists to "facilitate the openness, interoperability, resilience, security and/or stability" of the '''Domain Name System (DNS)'''.<ref>[https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article1 ICANN.org Bylaws - Article 1]</ref> Although ICANN as a whole is dedicated to the mission of preserving an open, interoperable, resilient, secure, and stable DNS, specific committees, organizations, and entities are directly focused on the technical operation of the DNS: | [[ICANN]] exists to "facilitate the openness, interoperability, resilience, security and/or stability" of the '''Domain Name System (DNS)'''.<ref>[https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article1 ICANN.org Bylaws - Article 1]</ref> Although ICANN as a whole is dedicated to the mission of preserving an open, interoperable, resilient, secure, and stable DNS, specific committees, organizations, and entities are directly focused on the technical operation of the DNS: | ||