What is a DNS Server? / Dynamic DNS

What is a DNS Server?

DNS servers translate human-friendly domain names to machine-friendly IP addresses. You're probably using a DNS server supplied by your ISP, one whose quality is unknown. Switching to a third-party DNS service can both speed your internet activity and protect against tricky DNS-based attacks

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet. When users type domain names such as ‘google.com’ or ‘nytimes.com’ into web browsers, DNS is responsible for finding the correct IP address for those sites. Browsers then use those addresses to communicate with origin servers or CDN edge Servers to access website information. This all happens thanks to DNS servers: machines dedicated to answering DNS queries.

Commonly used DNS that are known in the industry are:

8.8.8.8 Google Primary

8.8.4.4 Google Secondary

1.1.1.1 Cloudflare Primary

1.0.0.1 Cloudflare Secondary

Now onto Dynamic DNS.

What is a DDNS (Dynamic DNS)?

Dynamic DNS are just a local manual override to a standard DNS hosted on the internet.

DDNS, most commonly known as Dynamic DNS, is an automatic method of refreshing a name server. It can dynamically update DNS records without the need for human interaction. It is extremely useful for updating A and AAAA records when the host has changed its IP address.

Imagine this situation. You have a server in your office, and you are providing some service to your employees. You are using a standard/consumer-grade internet from a typical ISP (Internet service provider). You are getting a temporary IP address that could change the next type you connect or change automatically after some time. To provide a service, you 3 options:

1. A Static IP address that could be expensive.
2. Change manually the IP address every time when it changes.
3. Automatically update the IP addresses – Dynamic DNS or DDNS!

DDNS is a service that automatically and periodically updates your DNS’s A (IPv4) or AAAA (IPv6) records when your IP address changes. These IP changes are made by your Internet provider.

With DDNS you don’t need to worry about the changes in IP addresses!