Changes

Even though all computers connected to the Internet are assigned an IP address, we usually do not know these addresses nor do we use them when opening a website. Numbers are quite difficult to remember (how many phone numbers do you know by heart?) and for this reason we assign names as addresses for our websites (also known as a Universal Resource Locator – URL). These names and their associated IP addresses are recorded in the Domain Name System (DNS). This is akin to the Internet's telephone directory and is another critical component of Internet routing and operations. DNS is hierarchical, meaning that your computer can have its list of URLs and corresponding IPs, your ISP will have a list, the national provider will have a list and so on, right up to the root DNS servers (of which there are 13). Should your computer not have an entry for www.livejournal.com it will ask the next list up in line – the ISP's and so on. Whether browsing websites or sending email, DNS always plays a part. Below is a diagram describing how DNS is utilised utilized when you search for the LiveJournal website.