The domain name system

The domain name system is a protocol and a set of servers which provides a uniform method for associating the names of resources (e.g., mailboxes, host names) to information about the resources (e.g. mail server addresses). The name database is distributed among multiple name servers scattered through one or more internets. The protocol provides tools for controlling both the distribution of the database and the responsibility for maintenance of the distributed pieces of the database. (Author)