What is a DNS Server?

All computers on the internet reference each other by a IP address. This is a number that looks like this: 192.168.1.1 or 8.8.8.8. Numbers like this aren't very easy for (most) people to remember. The solution that was created is the "domain name server" or DNS. The DNS system allows a person to type in google.com or mach1webdesign.com into their browser and still end up at the computer that is referenced by the IP address. This all happens behind the scenes and works great. Our IP address is 174.120.2.166. Try typing this number into your browser. You should end up at our homepage.

There are thousands of Domain Name Servers across the globe. All of these DNS servers talk to each other and share information about the domain names/IP addresses they know about. Each DNS maintains it's own database. Your Primary Nameservers are located with the company you purchase your domain from. When you change your nameserver records with your domain registrar, Other Nameservers begin "learning" about this change from the Primary nameserver. This process can take up to 48 hours to be effective worldwide. This process is called 'propogation" and while it is happening, your website may be unavailable when referencing it by it's "human name" or domain name. Instead you will need to reference by it's IP Address. On a shared server, when several websites share one IP Address, it's necessary to further specify which website you want to see when using only the IP Address. This is done by using a tilde ~ and then the account name on the server. Here is an example: http://174.120.2.166/~username.