Relationship Between Domain Names and IP Addresses

A domain name is a linkage string which defines a jurisdiction of administrative self-rule, sanction or limitation within the Internet. Domain names are defined by the protocols and directives of the Domain Name System (DNS). Any name registered in the DNS is a domain name. Domain names are used in various networking contexts and application-specific nomenclature and addressing tenacities. In general, a domain name represents an Internet Protocol (IP) resource, such as a computer used to access the Internet, a web-server hosting a web site, or the web site itself or any other service presented via the Internet. In 2017, 330.6 million domain names had been registered across the globe.

Domain names are systematized on the secondary levels i.e. subdomains of the DNS root domain, which is unnamed. The primary set of domain names are the top-level domains (TLDs), including the generic top-level domains (gTLDs), which include the most famous domains like the.com,.info,.net,.edu, and.org, and the country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) like co.in,.co.uk, etc. Beyond these TLD’s in the DNS hierarchy are the secondary and tertiary domain names that are typically open for reservation by end-users which would be used to connect local area networks LAN to the Internet, or to create other publicly accessible Internet resources or run web sites.

The registration of these domain names is governed by domain name registrars who sell the Domain names along with other services associated with it to the public.

An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical tag assigned to each Device which may be a computer, server, network, storage, mobile or any IT appliance which is connected to a network of computing devices and servers which use an Internet Protocol for communication amongst each other within the network. An IP address serves two principal functions: network interface identification and location tracking.

Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) which is the older version of the 2, defines an IP address as a 32-bit number. However, because of the rapid growth of the Internet users as well as devices and the exhausting supply of available IPv4 addresses, a new version of IP (IPv6), using 128 bits for the IP address, was developed in 1995, and standardized as RFC 2460 in 1998. IPv6 deployment has been ongoing since the mid-2000s.

IP addresses are usually mentioned and demonstrated in human-readable notations, such as 115.124.127.198 in IPv4, and 2400:5300:0:b::51 in IPv6. The IP address space is administered globally by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), and by five regional Internet registries (RIR) in charge for their predefined geographical territories for assignment of IP address to end users and Internet service providers. IPv4 addresses are circulated by IANA to the RIRs in slabs of approximately 16.8 million IP addresses each. Each Internet Service Provider or local network administrator needs to assign an IP address to each machine (PC or Server) connected within its network configuration. Such assignments may be on a static (permanently assigned) or dynamic basis, depending on its software and practices.

An IP address helps with two primary functions, firstly it identifies the host’s network interface, and it provides the location of it in the IT network, and thus ensuring the ability of addressing that host. The role has been described as follows: A name, description indicates what it is & the address indicates the location of it lastly the route indicates how to reach there.

The intent of the new design was not only to deliver a sufficient quantity of IP addresses, but also redefine routing in the Internet by more competent aggregation of subnetwork routing prefixes. This resulted in decelerated growth of routing tables in the routers.

IP addresses are allocated to a machine or device either automatically allocating a dynamic IP at the time of booting, or perpetually by static configuration of the host’s hardware or software. Insistent configuration is also known as using a static IP address. In contrast, when a computer's IP address is allocated afresh each time it restarts, this is dynamic IP address allocation.

The configuration of a static IP address is subject to the software or hardware installed in the machine. Servers used for the network infrastructure, such as routers and mail servers, are typically configured with static addressing. The primary reason is Static addresses are always convenient for locating servers inside an enterprise, therefore in critical times like trouble shooting the location tracing of the server becomes expedient.

Dynamic IP addresses are allocated using techniques such as Zero-configuration networking for self-configuration, or by the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) & the Domain Name System (DNS) from a network server. The address allocated with DHCP has an expiration phase, after which the IP address would be assigned to another device, or to the original connected host in case if it is still powered. A network administrator may implement a DHCP method so that the same host always receives a specific address.

Domain names are assigned to an IP address, which is used in the communication with the PC Server. Domain names are words, alphabets with other elements like the TLD or the gTLD’s which are separated from each other using full-stops. For example, the name of the domain is ESDS or Host but when the TLD like.co.in is attached with it, then it becomes a valid domain name. The.co.in is the country level domain. Some other top-level domains are.com,.edu for education,.gov for government,.net for network, and.org for nonprofit organizations.

Other top-level domains are for geographic locations, such as.us for the United States,.ca for Canada,.co.in for India and.uk for United Kingdom. Within a country, mid-level domains may be used to further refine the address. The remainder of the address for both domains is up for sale. InterNIC is the organization currently responsible for managing the.com and.net top-level domains. Organizations can request for any name and it can be granted permission to use that name if it is not in registered or allocated to anyone else on the internet; and also as long as they pay the appropriate registration fees.

Its mandatory that all information sent on the Internet must use a valid IP address, this process is a mandate which will translate a domain name into an IP address. This mandate is defined a Domain Name Server or DNS as its most popularly known. The DNS interconnects a domain name with the allocated IP and returns a valid IP address when a domain is called for in the internet. If your PC is connected to the Internet, it either has a fixed IP address of a DNS or a IP address is allocated dynamically whenever a connection is established, via a modem or when the computer is first turned on.

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