Section 3.3: Name Resolution
DNS Zones
DNS uses domain name space is the naming. The DNS database is indexed by name; therefore, each domain must have a name. As you add domains to the hierarchy, the name of the parent domain is appended to its child domain. Consequently, a domain's name identifies its position in the hierarchy. Thus, the studyguide.testking.com domain name identifies the studyguides domain as a child domain or subdomain of the testking.com domain and testking as a subdomain of the com domain. A discrete portion of the domain name space is represented as a zone. Zones provide a way to partition the domain name space into manageable sections.
Windows Server 2003 supports the use of user-friendly domain names to represent the IP address of a host or a client. This however requires name resolution so that the computer can identify the IP address that the user-friendly name refers to. Windows Server 2003 supports two types of name resolution: NetBIOS name resolution and host name resolution.
3.3.1: NetBIOS Name Resolution
Although Microsoft has phased out NetBIOS name resolution, it remains in Windows Server 2003 for compatibility purposes. Two of the mechanisms implemented for NetBIOS name resolution are Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), which is a NetBIOS name server that stores NetBIOS names and their IP Addresses; and the LMHOSTS file, which is a static text file that contains a list of NetBIOS names and their corresponding IP addresses and is stored on the local computer.
3.3.2: Host Name Resolution
Windows Server 2003 supports the use of user-friendly domain names to represent the IP address of a host or a client. This requires name resolution so that the computer can identify the IP address that the user-friendly name refers to. Windows Server 2003 supports two types of name resolution: NetBIOS name resolution and host name resolution.
• NetBIOS Name Resolution remains in Windows Server 2003 for compatibility purposes. Two of the mechanisms implemented for NetBIOS name resolution are Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS), which is a NetBIOS name server that stores NetBIOS names and their IP Addresses; and the LMHOSTS file, which is a static text file that contains a list of NetBIOS names and their corresponding IP addresses and is stored on the local computer. Clients using earlier versions of Windows, such as Windows 98 or Windows NT Workstation 4.0, which use NetBIOS names for network communication, require Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) to register NetBIOS computer names and resolve them to IP addresses.
• Host Name Resolution is supported by Domain Name Services (DNS). DNS is a distributed database that is used in TCP/IP networks to translate computer names to IP addresses. It is most commonly associated with the Internet but is also used extensively in private networks. DNS provides the following benefits:
• DNS names are user-friendly, which means that they are easier to remember than IP addresses;
• DNS names remains constant even when IP addresses change; and
• DNS allows users to connect to local servers by using the same naming convention as the Internet.