Domain Name System (DNS), in computer communications, a method of translating Internet addresses so that computers connected in the Internet can find each other. A DNS server translates a numerical address assigned to a computer (such as 207.46.228.91) into a sequence of words, and vice versa. A DNS name, written in lowercase letters with words separated by periods, takes the form of username@computer.zonename. Username is the name or account number used to log on. The hostname (Whitehouse in the example above) is the name of the computer or Internet provider; it may consist of several parts. Zonename indicates the type of organization. Common zone names include com (commercial organization), edu (educational), gov (government), and net (networking organization).
