These essays are part of a series about the mechanics behind the Internet. They will be used as building blocks with the aim of helping a broader audience, i.e., non-IT experts, understand how all this “stuff” works when it comes to lines of communication between your computer and the rest of the World Wide Web.

The Domain Name System is one of the most important parts of the Internet’s infrastructure. It’s what allows people to connect to a site using a URL like “example.com” instead of an IP address. Choosing the right DNS provider is crucial for ensuring that a site maintains high levels of availability and performance, but it’s far from easy to understand the complexities of the various DNS records and the differences between the types of servers that comprise the Domain Name System.