Microsoft® Windows Server 2003: Administrator’s Companion

Name Resolution

As useful as the 12-decimal–digit IP numbers (192.168.101.102) are when it comes to computers recognizing other computers, they’re not the sort of information that human minds process very well (short-term memory can store a maximum of roughly seven “chunks” of information). Not only is there a limit to how many 12-digit numbers one can memorize, but also numbers can easily change.

IP version 6 addresses are 128 bits expressed in strings that can have as many as 32 hexadecimal characters, although they’re often shorter. (Actually, IP version 6 addresses can even be written as 128 ones and zeroes, but that’s not likely to catch on.)

Obviously, easy-to-remember names are preferable to strings of numbers or strings of characters ...