ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a key Internet service, one that allows humans to enter names for computers in place of numeric Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. It explains the naming scheme, and describes how software on people's device converts an alphabetic name into the computer’s IP address. To make it easier for humans, a system known as the Domain Name System was invented that allows users to enter a name rather than an IP address. The names are known as domain names. A computer that runs the company’s email server might be named email, which is the most popular domain name. Other variants related to email also make the list: mail1, mail2, mail3, and webmail. To make names unique, the Domain Name System extends each name by adding a suffix. Currently, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers approves suffixes, and guarantees that once a suffix has been approved for one organization, no other organization can use an identical suffix.
