The translation of domain names into binary markers for the purpose of addressing and identifying the devices from anywhere in the world is the responsibility of the Domain name System (DNS) a hierarchical naming system for internet resources or other private network, essentially they translate computer hostnames into IP addresses (e.g from www.earthday.com to 217.55.189.176). Authoritative name servers of domains are designated for mapping domain names to IP addresses, the distributive nature of the mechanism helps in making the system fault tolerant and to eliminate the need for persistent consultation and updating through the central register. The internet derives a lot from the DNS beyond the provision of keyword based redirection services in that it stores various types of information such as the mail servers rendering email for internet domains. Furthermore, identifiers like the RFID tags, UPC Codes, intel characters could make use of the Domain Name System.

The internet protocol suite application layer entails the BGP, DNS, FTP, HTTP, IMAP, SMTP, TLS/SSL, XMPP, Telnet, Megaco, SNMP, IRC among others, while the Transport layer includes TCP, UDP, DCCP, SCTP, RSVP, ECN, etc. The Internet layer – IP (IPv4, IPv6), ICMP, ICMPv6, IGMP, IPsec, etc, – the Link layer – ARP, RARP, NDP, OSPF, Tunnels (L2TP), PPP, Media Access control (Ethernet, MPLS, DSL, ISDN, FFDI), device drivers plus many more. The domain naming practice dates back to the ARPAnet era, and the system had considerable variations as each computer on the network accessed the HOSTS.TXT file from the SRI, and through the HOSTS.TXT file allowing mapping of numerical addresses to names. However, a system making use of a hosts file are limited in that address changes prompt host updates of all computers in communication with it.

Clearly, this became impractical with the massive growth of networking, necessitating the need for a new system that records any changes in a single place enabling other computers to receive notification dynamically, thus seamlessly enhancing the network. The dominant DNS software on the internet is the BIND, and a ‘tree’ of domain names exists in the domain name space, any given leaf in the tree incorporates a resource and files containing domain name information. Trees are sub-divided into zones and the DNS Zone is made up of inter-connected nodes that are served by an authoritative nameserver. The maintenance of the DNS is done by distributed databases using the client server model, and the nodes play the role of nameservers, the pinnacle of the hierarchy is served by the root nameservers.