The Domain Name System
The Components, Functions, Legality
and Issues of the Domain Name
System
Introduction to DNS
A world wide tool
A simple explanation to what the domain name system is that it translates human
readable names into code that can be read by a computer, every single device with the
ability to connect to the internet will have an IP (personal internet protocol address) This
IP address is used to communicate with other devices which opens up the ability for
packets to be sent and received
Introduction to DNS
The domain name system function is a bit like a post office; first you arrive with your
packet and place an address on the packet. The packet is then weighed and measured
before being entered into the postage system. The packet is then sent to a post office near
the location you want your package to reach. From there it is checked to ensure it’s arrived
at the correct place then taken to the address. This is done through a network of
connected devices, these devices are connected through nodes, nodes are the objects that
connect two or more devices together.
(Beginlinux.com, Domain Name service)
The three components of the Domain
Name System
There are three main components to the domain name system; these are name space,
name servers and resolver. I will start by talking about the name space component; the
name space component does a couple of things. First it’s a type of hierarchy system
There are three levels of domains: top-level, second-level and third level. I felt the best
way to show this was in a diagram
Secondly it’s a namespace system that helps standardise the system, for example a .gov
address is used by a government only although standards have dropped in recent years
meaning this is not always the case.
Name Space
The three components of the Domain
Name System
Name servers are the details of the server that is related to a certain website, you
will have two items. First your server hostname which will look something like
DDS.severeg.com and then your server IP address for example 143.503.43.6.
Every zone of a name server has a primary name server along with many
secondary servers that hold copies of the primary servers data. This is helpful in
reducing stress on the primary name server. Name severs are able to cache data
which allows for faster loading of the same data in future
Name Servers
The three components of the Domain
Name System
Finally, the resolver is gives the command of initiating and
performing the queries that lead to the translation from a domain
name into an IP address. A non-recursive query and a recursive
query.
Resolver
DNS and legalization in the UK
There have been many legal issues around the domain name system one popular
example was when a person used the domain name modernwarfare3.com was
used to create an anti-Modern Warfare 3 website, initially the website just
forwarded users to the videos games largest competitors website
(http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield3), but once the website caught the
attention of the media this changed to a whole website devoted to insulting the
modern warfare brand. Activision (The publisher of modern warfare 3) took legal
action against claiming the domain name was strongly linked to their brand, they
won the court case and managed to take control of the domain
There are also issues around UK based names for example www.eg.co.uk as the
system for insuring that a .uk domain is based in the UK is considered no longer
trustworthy, an example of one of these issues is websites that make fake goods will
use a uk domain name is order to trick customers. Nominet is a company thats helps
police this problem
http://www.whois-uk.com, Nominet plans to release super-short domain names
"The operation, co-ordinated by the Metropolitan Police Central e-Crime Unit, targeted
websites selling counterfeit goods to unsuspecting consumers in the busy Christmas
shopping period. Following notification from the Police, Nominet worked with the
relevant .uk registrars to suspend .uk domain names that were in breach of our terms
and conditions. Registrants for the domain names involved were notified in advance of
the suspension. "
(.uk domain names suspended to protect shoppers from online fraud, 2011)
Issues and limitation of the Domain
Name System
The domain name system is very vulnerable to hackers, there are a range of different
types of attacks Cache poisoning attacks, Dos, amplification attacks and mitigations.
These problems lower the quality and usefulness of the domain name system. A
range of people are working to prevent these issues such as internet service
providers, website owners and virus protection software companies, Its
recommended that everyone has virus protection software on their computers to
help prevent these problems.
IPv4 vs IPv6
Currently everyone uses a system called IPv4 which stands for Internet Protocol
version 4, soon new devices will start using IPv6. The main literal reason from
moving from IPv4 to IPv6 is because of running out of addresses, it is estimated
that by the end of 2012 we will run out of IPv4 addresses. IPv4 supports 32bit
addresses while the new IPv6 are 128bit, there are also lots of other new
improvements such as improved map host names and support for 1280-byte
packet size. During this move a lot of work will be done to ensure problems are
kept to a minimum as IPv6 is not backwards compatible and security are of a high
quality.
The domain name system is an important part of the internet, one that needs
more awareness, I hope this report helped give you a better understand of how it
works and why more people should know about it.
References in alphabetical order
Beginlinux.com, (2011), Domain Name service (2011) [Image online]. Retrieved from http://beginlinux.com/blog/wpcontent/uploads/dns2.gif
Carolyn Duffy Marsan, Biggest mistake for IPv6: It's not backwards compatible, developers admit (2009) Retrieved from
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/032509-ipv6-mistake.html
Differences IPv4 Vs IPv6. (2011) Retrieved from http://www.techsutram.com/2009/03/differences-ipv4-vs-ipv6.html.
Domain Name System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2011) Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System.
Google IPv6 Conference 2008: IPv6 and the DNS (2008). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iIngiGqjrA.
IPv4 Vs IPv6 Tutorial (2010) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GWpcm5Ko_I
Owen Good, Activision Seizes "ModernWarfare3.com" from Battlefield 3 Fanboy (2011) Retrieved from
http://kotaku.com/5838547/activision-seizes-modernwarfare3com-from-battlefield-3-fanboy
Nominet plans to release super-short domain names (2011) Retrieved from http://www.whois-uk.com/blog/nominet-plans-torelease-super-short-domain-names.php
Server2k3, dns namespace? (2011) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFkIRZIYM-E. .
.uk domain names suspended to protect shoppers from online fraud (2011) Retrieved from
http://www.nic.uk/news/latest/?contentId=8870
What are the three components of DNS named. 2011. Retrieved from
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_three_components_of_DNS_named.
What Is a Domain Name Space? | Super Hosting Deals . (2011) Retrieved from http://www.superhostingdeals.com/what-is-adomain-name-space-1393.html.
What is the Domain Name System (DNS)?. (2011). Retrieved from http://whatismyipaddress.com/dns.