Internet Basics
All computers on the Internet are uniquely identified by an IP address. Just like a phone number uniquely identifies a particular phone, an IP address uniquely identifies a specific server. URLs are resolved to a specific server via domain naming services (DNS). A domain name service translates a URL such as www.microsoft.com into a specific IP address such as 207.46.230.220.
NOTE
The simplistic discussion here about IP addresses and computer names assumes that the computers all have static IP addresses. Most home (and many business) users are assigned dynamic IP addresses by their Internet Service Provider (ISP), and DNS doesn't provide any mapping service for these dynamic addresses.
In order to connect to the Internet (unless ...
Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Read now
Unlock full access