Name Resolution Methods

Name Resolution Methods

Internet host names are used because they are easier to remember than the long dotted decimal IP addresses. A host name is typically the name of a device that has a specific IP address and on the
Internet is part of what is known as a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). An FQDN consists of a host name and a domain name. An example of an FQDN is hostname.company.com.

      Although we have phone numbers and can remember them when we need to, life would be difficult if we had to remember the phone numbers of all our friends and associates. We might be able to remember the numbers of as many as 10 friends and relatives, but after that, things would get a bit difficult. Therefore, we remember their names and have directories of names and the phone numbers. Likewise, it’s easier to remember www.microsoft.com than it is to remember 198.105.232.6 and look up the name to associate the IP address with it.

      The process of finding the IP address for any given host name is known as name resolution, and it can be performed in several ways: a HOSTS file, a request broadcast on the local network, DNS, and WINS. But before you read about that, you need to first understand Internet domains and how they are organized.