Application Layer: DNS
Hello. So, welcome to the next lecture on Computer Networks and Internet Protocols.Today we will be discussing one of the important application layer product all namelyDNS right. So, this DNS helps us in resolving name to IP conversion. So, we’ll go onlooking at it.(Refer Slide Time: 00:40).So, as if you just quickly recollect, so we have seen this application layer, there arevarious protocols right, like some related to file transfer, email, remote login, networkmanagement and there is a name management or name resolution for name resolutionwhich is DNS.(Refer Slide Time: 00:59)So, Domain Name Systems, FTP, Hypertext Protocol and so and so forth as some of theimportant protocols. Today we will discuss on domain name system or DNS.(Refer Slide Time: 01:11).So, what is DNS? It is a sort of a global data base for internet addressing, mail and otherinformation. So, why suddenly we require this? Now you see, whenever you want tocommunicate one packet or one data packet from one to another, what we require? Werequire primarily the IP address of the destination right. So, specially when we dointernetworking, the IP address is the of the destination what we require.Now, remembering IP address is the tedious job right. If you want to say if you want toopen iitkgp “www iitkgp ac dot in” and instead of this if I say that you remember the IPaddress of iitkgp at 203 dot 16 dot so and so forth it is very tedious to remember. So, inother sense whether I can have some naming convention; so, that mean some nameswhich in turn can be resolved to IP right. Now on the other if you see the routers whichcan open up to or look up to network layer or IP, we’ll not understand this names right,names can be only understood at the application level right.So, routers should be given data in form of IP only. So, I require somebody who canconvert this name to IP, that exactly the job of the primary job of DNS. DNS does somefew more things that we’ll see, but primarily it works on this resolving name to IP. So,there is a concept of domain and sub domains as a in a sense that how much I will covermy in my DNS. So, have suppose IIT Kharagpur DNS. So, what it its responsibilitywhether it will take care the iitkgp as its domain, can have sub domain and so and soforth like we “iitkgp dot ac dot in” may be a domain, “cac dot iitkgp is ac dot in” a subdomain on the things, and the type of things, and there are concept of DNS servers whichtranslate the domain name to the IP address.So, one is that management of this distributed domain, another is that I require domainname server which we’ll transport which we will translate this domain name to IPaddresses right. These two are the primarily one of the major activities of the things.(Refer Slide Time: 03:36)So, we have seen there are some of the Top Level Domains or what you say TLDs likecom, org, net and so and so forth. Typically these top level domains are three characterlength and there are few country domains. There are rather for every country there is acountry domain which are a two character length like ‘in’ for India, ‘us’ for US UnitedStates of America and ‘ca’ for Canada and so and so forth. So these are what we say toplevel domain, so or TLDs.(Refer Slide Time: 04:16).Now, if we like to see the domain name space right. So, the domain name space issomething like that. So, we have some of the top level domains like arpa, com, edu, organd so and so forth and then, under that, I have sub domains like suppose in India. UnderIndia there are ac; under ac, iitkgp; under iitkgp, cac. So there is the overall domain namespace right. So, that those domain name space need to be defined.(Refer Slide Time: 04:52)Now so, that above the TLD, we what we do or is the root domain. So, what we have say,if this is a typical example of say challenger or “atc fhda dot edu”. So, this is a overalldomain name. So, if we go on this hierarchy. So, the next level is this one, next level is“fhda dot edu” and edu is the top level domain this dot indicates the root domain.So, these are the top level domains, which are they are which is there. So, this typicalexample may be from (Refer Time: 05:34) books you can refer that, but nevertheless thisis the hierarchy of the things. So, see the manageability of the name has been done in thisway. Now at the every level there is a IP address. So, I if I want to resolve if I want to goto this domain I need to resolve. So, there should be somebody will resolve, as we knowabout this client server thing. So, say I give “www dot iitkgp ac dot in” in my browser.So, browser is a client or an http client which requires my DNS for a resolution right. So,give me the IP sort of things. So, the DNS resolve and send me back the IP address, youtaking this IP address the less of the communication goes on. Intermediate routers andother devices understand the IP address right, at the end it will be delivered to thedestination IP address.(Refer Slide Time: 06:31)Now, if we look at these domains; so, this is a domain, this is a domain, this is a domainand there are difference. So, this dot com as the responsibility of the thing and if we areif it is having another intermediate thing, then it has to go for other domains to look atand so and so forth right. So, every domain server or the DNS server have some recordof what it is under that right, that we will see that we call that it has a resource record.So, what are the resources it is having right. So, it has or we it has a some sort of acontrol authority of the domain. It can have sub domain, it delegate that thing to thingsright and go so and so forth. Similarly, here also in the edu case we see this one.(Refer Slide Time: 07:25).So, like if I have “cse dot iitkgp ac dot in”, then in ac iitkgp cse like this is a top leveldomain country domain and we above this is the root domain dot which is dot. So,domain names are arranged in a hierarchical tree like structure. So, see I can havemultiple cse at some level, they are also cse iitb also have a cse, but the overall thing willnot disturb right. So, individually iitkgp only if you look at the cse, so that may clashright, every iit or every iit has a cse department and their domain names have cse and itwill clash, but that is partially qualified or partially defined. But if I have fully qualified,cse dot iitkgp ac dot in, this will never will be duplicated, so that means, I can uniquelydefine that thing and uniquely define that IP address of the things.(Refer Slide Time: 08:25)Now, that is why we have a fully qualified domain name that if a domain name ends witha dot it is assumed to be complete. This is called fully qualified domain name or FQDNor an absolute domain name right like it should be iitkgp cse dot iitkgp ac dot ac dot indot so; that means, fully qualified. Only if I see only cse dot iitkgp, this is partiallyqualified; that means you require something to make it fully qualified. If a domain namedoes not end in a dot it is incomplete and the DNS resolver may complete these byappending a suffix to this domain. The rules for doing are implementation dependent andlocally configurable. So, what how you will be there? So, DNS server can make it fullyqualified before going to the other things(Refer Slide Time: 09:16)So, we have some generic TLDs as we are discussing that top level domains, top leveldomains are called generic TLDs or gTLD sometimes and can be three characters ormore in length. So, there is a top level domain typically three characters or there are aeroetcetera which is four characters. These names are registered with and maintained bywhat we say authoritative agency or vice what we can what we call as ICANN. So, theseare top level domain, which has three plus three or more characters can be are defined bythe ICANN.(Refer Slide Time: 09:54).Now, this are some of the examples of top level domains are aero, biz etcetera that isminimum three character, even there is a top level domain called museum which is muchmore than that.(Refer Slide Time: 10:04)There is a concept of country domain, top level domains named for each of the ISO 3166international two character country codes.So, that everybody has a things like ‘ae’ for United Arabs, ‘in’ for India, ‘au’ forAustralia and so, these are the country domain or the geographical domain. So, it iscountry specific, many countries have their own second level domain underneath theparallel which parallel the generic domain name this top level domain right like what wesay like ac dot in right. So, there can be ac dot or what we say co dot in. So, there can besome other domain where that is co dot say something edu is could can be there right orsomething. So, what we have a iitlkgp dot ac dot in these are underneath that in domain.(Refer Slide Time: 11:04)Now, this distribution of domain space right.(Refer Slide Time: 11:09)So, if I if we see. So, if the root server primarily understands the top level domains. Nowif there is any resolution, it will go to that next level domains. Say if there is a requestcoming from something dot com or something dot edu, it will send it to the next levelserver which resolves the next level things. So, every domain server has their particularauthoritative zone, where it keeps the information records regarding that zone right. So,while resolution it helps in doing that.Now this hierarchical structure allows me to expand or add, delete, update type of thingsright. So, if there is a update in say somewhere bk dot edu, so that that is server or edudot server understands. So, the root server sends it to that right. So, it depends on where,like iitkgp tomorrow opens up a new domain it basically put it into its own resourcerecord of iitkgp ac dot in domain name server, which in turn are resolved when a requestfor that particular sub domain comes into play.(Refer Slide Time: 12:27).So that means, we have zone and domain. So, this is a domain. So, there is one zone thisis zone and domain in the same so; that means, it takes care of that where the authority isthere. So, the data for which it has the authority, so it its responses with a authoritativeanswer or it responses with a non authoritative, it get it if it gets update from somebodyother domain.So, what is a zone?(Refer Slide Time: 12:54).Domains are broken into zone for which individual DNS server are responsible. So, aparticular domain is broken into zone for which individual DNS servers are responsible.A domain represents the interset of names and machines that are contained under anorganizational domain name.So, a domain represents the interset of name like iitkgp ac dot in. So, it takes care of theinterset of name and machines or names versus IP address that are within that particulardomain; a zone is a domain minus the sub domain delegation to the other things. So, ithas it has delegated the server like ac dot in domain as delegated that iitkgp related to theiitkgp dot ac dot in. So, that domain of that particular ac dot in is restricted to the things,which excludes it is like minus those or excluding those sub domain delegated to otherDNS server if at all.(Refer Slide Time: 13:57).So, conceptually is domain name is typically served by two or more DNS server forredundancy. So if there is a failure of one DNS other should be able to resolve. So, againthe resolving means primarily mapping from name to IP. So, if the one of the server failsthe other server takes up the responsibility. Only one DNS server should be configured asprimary of a zone. The primary server contains the master copy of the data of the zone;secondary servers can get copies of the data through a zone transfer. So, that is aintermediate things, which goes on to the zone transfer and goes on for this sort of updateto the secondary servers right. So, there can be one or more secondary server. So butnevertheless the master record is with the things and this secondary server get synced ortransfer of zone from the primary to secondary.(Refer Slide Time: 14:53).Zone transfer a primary server loads all the information from the disc, the secondaryserver loads all information from the primary server, when the primary downloadsinformation from the secondary, it is called zone transfer. So, it is required that zonetransfer if there is a need like that.DNS in the of - role of DNS in the internet working or DNS in the internet.(Refer Slide Time: 15:19).So, there are three categories as we have seen generic domain and country domain. Oneis three or more and one is two character, a two character length; now there is a thirdcategory called inverse domain or reveres domain right. So, that is these are all domainname to IP. If there is a inverse is required, name to a - IP to domain, then we have ainverse domain data base right, or inverse domain server which is which does a inversedomain resolution.
Application Layer: DNS - Part 2
Like for generic domain like in this “chal dot atc dot fhda dot edu”. So in this path it isdefined. So it is chal atc fhda dot edu dot, chal atc fhda edu dot right, similarly any otherpaths will be defined.(Refer Slide Time: 16:22)So, for country domain like here also the paths are defined like that.(Refer Slide Time: 16:31).For inverse domain if it is IP to this. So the IP and IP this basically this server is in addrdot arpa dot net, arpa in addr dot arpa and the IP it is written in reverse way. So, 132 3445 121 is written here that 121 45 34 132 in addr and arpa dot net. So, the IPrepresentation in a inverse way this inverse resolution right. So, it is if the IP there it theyit basically sends back the name of the things, usually we have we all primarily we haveforward resolution, this is a inverse resolution.(Refer Slide Time: 17:25)Name resolution the commonly used server is BIND that is Berkeley Internal NameDomain runs under UNIX or Linux as a process and called named, so that means, namedis the demon which is the DNS demon.When application needs some information from the user, it invokes DNS nameresolution resolver. So, it resolve the name, the DNS translate a fully qualified domainname into a corresponding IP address using the command called nslookup. So, when yougive nslookup, then it is resolved into the particular particular resolution.(Refer Slide Time: 18:13).You can pretty easily use any command from this one. So, if the name of the server doesnot have an information locally, it asks the primary server and so on for the redundancyeach host may also have one or more secondary name servers, which may be queriedwhen the primary fails.(Refer Slide Time: 18:44).So, there is a command is nslookup. We can have a quick look into the thing so that itwill be say, cmd if I give hopefully the ns sorry nslookup. Suppose I give www dot firstof all iitkgp dot ac dot in, it will resolves the returns the IP address as I am a locallyaccessing it, so, it gives me the local IP address. Suppose I give some other things likewww dot say something like nic dot in.So, I get a resolution for that whatever it is showing is the IP, similarly www say googledot com. So, it is all there Google IP as 216 dot this. So, this type of what it is doing? Itis asking the DNS server give me the names. So, it is some sort of a resolution processwhich is going on right.(Refer Slide Time: 19:58).So, this is the hierarchy as we have seen of the domain names.(Refer Slide Time: 20:04).And if the resolution goes on, so there can be recursive resolution name servers asks to aedu that what it wants to resolve a particular client and that fhda. So, it go on resolving itrequest goes on the things and resolving in a recursive way. So, it go on recursing one inserver asks the next and go on recursive way.(Refer Slide Time: 20:25).Or it can be iterative client subsequently send queries to the DNS server and receive theresolution; if responses is negative, DNS server to query the next is also returned.So, if it is not having, it returns that where DNS to be queried, unlike recursive resolutionhere where only one response is the finally written by the things. So, in the recursive thatitself recurs to the other, in case of iterative it sends that if it is not having sends the nextthat address of the next DNS server. So, it is some sort of what we are discussing as therecursive resolution.(Refer Slide Time: 21:04)Now, they are if there are if I want to resolve a particular DNS, if you look at the DNSresolution or resolver point of view, so user programs send a query user query to the fullresolver. It in turns send to the name server, it get resolved, response and in turn give theuser response right. The DNS the full resolver maintains a cache by which it remembersthat what is the mapping. So, that it does it next time much faster where as the nameserver has a if it is has a own database and cache and if it is not having it goes to it sendsit to the other name server foreign name server right. This is a full resolution so, the userprogram in turn send to the full resolution and get it done.(Refer Slide Time: 21:57)There is another resolver, which is pretty popular that is a called another way of resolverthat is a stub resolver. The stub resolver as a routine linked with the user program thatforwards queries to a name server for processing. So, it is a routine attached with thatprocess itself. So, on most platform the stub resolver is implemented by two libraryroutines or some variation of this, like gethost by name is the routine, most of the Linuxis tends supports it and gethost by address is another routine. So, in this case the resolveris embedded in the user program unlike that full resolver and then it goes on directlyhitting to the name server. So it is much faster and popular and mostly used.(Refer Slide Time: 22:50).DNS, now, let us come to the DNS messages right or also we called the DNS there is aconcept of DNS resource records before going to that messages types. So, domain namesystems distributed data base is composed of resource record RRs which are divided intoclasses for different kind of networks right.So, this is the thing resource record provide a mapping between the domain name and thenetwork objects right. So the domain name and the network objects are given inmapping; that is interestingly if you see say iitkgp ac dot in. It can be a domain, it can bea domain server, it also can be a http server or I can have a FTP server over there. Sothere there is a record which says based on that mapping that what sort of request I canmap to that particular network object.The most common network objects are the addresses of the internet host, but the domainname is designed to accommodate a wide range of different objects, so that means, it isnot only the host IPs, but is something much more than that. So, it is a concept ofresource records right.So, a zone consists of a group of resource record beginning with a start of authority SOAof the record. So, it is a particular zone as a a group resource record, but it starts with thestart of authority right. There will be a name server NS record NS record for the primaryname server for this zone. There may be also NS record for the secondary name serversright. So there is a there can be NS record for the primary and secondary. The NS recordsare used to identify which of the name servers are authoritative. It is whether it isauthoritative or non authoritative determine by this NS record. So, that whether it is itselfmaintaining it has a authority of thing or it is basically updated from somebody someother name server.(Refer Slide Time: 24:57).So, typical structure of this resource record we will see some example name, type, class,TTL time to live, and RD rec RD length, RData. So, these are the typical structure of theresource record.(Refer Slide Time: 25:13)This is a typical format of a RR message format where some identification is required,parameter, query count, answer count, a total number of NScount and ARcount right. So,these are record count. So, that we have the questions section, answers section, authoritysection and additional information. So, this comprises a RR message format. So,whenever this RR message is being exchanged, so these are the things which are whichare used for when we do, so this this format goes on; that means, the DNS clients aresevers or DNS zone transfers the this is the standard which is follows to the everybodyunderstands the other message.(Refer Slide Time: 26:06).DNS message is typically of two things one is query, another is response right. So, queryresponse type of thing.(Refer Slide Time: 26:13).So, the query as a header and question section where as the response is having a headerquestion section, answer section, authoritative section and additional section. So, this isthe response is goes on the thing.(Refer Slide Time: 26:31).So, there is in the header format there is a two thing is identification and flags, alongwith the number of question records it is send number of answer records all 0s becausethere is no answer recording the query. So it is all 0s in the query message, number ofauthoritative records, again all 0s in the query message, number of additional records all0s in the query message. And there is a flag field if you just recollect. So, there is a flagfields we just see that one.(Refer Slide Time: 27:04).That is QR there is whether is a it indicates whether is a query or response, OpCode 0 forstandard inverse or server status. So, that is the operational code it is a standard manageris name to IP, IP to name is inverse and then service status. If it is authority then this AAflag is on, TC is whether it is truncated of the full record is sent, RD is the recursiverecursion desired, RA is the recursion available and rCode is the status of the error.(Refer Slide Time: 27:47)So, these are the different formats of this flag fields and the type of records as wementioned there is a record, one is the query name, query type and query class like here.(Refer Slide Time: 27:54).Query name format, suppose we want to have that admin dot atc dot fhda dot edu. So, itsays that number of count is 5; so, that admin 3 and so, and so forth. So, it says that theseare the different names which are separated by dot by doing that; so, this is the queryname format.(Refer Slide Time: 28:19).And resource record format we have seen already that domain name, domain type,domain class, time to live, resource record, data length and the whole resource record.(Refer Slide Time: 28:32).So, we let us see one or two examples, a resolver wants to wants a query message to alocal server to find the IP address of the chal dot fhda dot edu. We discuss the query andresponse separately. Let us discuss.(Refer Slide Time: 28:52).So, this is the typical format where you see that is encoded these are the different fields.So, you say query message and other things as 0 and this is c 4 c h d a c h a l, then again4 f h d a 3 e d u and 0; that means, that is the end of the things right. So, it has if it is alarge record that continuing on the next line on node and so and so forth.(Refer Slide Time: 29:25)Similarly, example of a response is it query message is there and along with the responsemessage is also there right. If you can check that particular IP, so it is 153 dot 18 dot 8dot 105. So, it if the response message which is read by the system and it is the DNS isresolved.(Refer Slide Time: 29:53).Similarly, example two, an ftp server has received a packet from a ftp client, with IPaddress 153 dot 2 dot seventy nine dot nine 9. The ftp server wants to verify the ftp clientis an authorised or not right.So, it is getting a IP and now it wants to verify whether its authorised or not right. Inother sense that it wants to know that particular which domain has this particular IP right.So, this is the ftp server wants to the ftp client has requested and ftp server wants to dothat.(Refer Slide Time: 30:35).So, it is a reverse query message. So, it goes on if you if you look at, there is arpa dot thisis r d d a arpa dot addr slash dash in dot the IP in a other way around right.So, if I have 9 dot 7 dot 2 dot 153, so here 9 dot 7 dot 2 dot 153 dot in minus addr dotarpa right. So, this is the way it resolve and inverse response file is return the particularname of the thing which is return it is m h h e dot com is the name of the particulardomain.(Refer Slide Time: 31:28).So, why we required this? The ftp site server wants to authenticate or wants to know thatwhether the IP where from it is getting a request for a file transfer request or ftp request,then whether that is an authorised or not and it does as a reverse domain resolution ok.So, what we see over all? That domain resolution is primarily for IP to a sorry domainname a name to IP and it is easier to remember name then IP. So, that any anywhere weuse the name, if it is if the request is going across the internet, it has need to be resolved.So, the domain resolver that every particular domain sub domain can have will have aDNS server, which basically resolve this when the request go to the DNS query it resolveit right, and it goes it sends back the resulting. There is a concept of inverse DNS whereif you give the IP it returns that domain of the things, it may be required for authenticateor see the authority of a particular domain. So, with this, let us conclude our discussiontoday we will continue on this particular topic or basically on application layer for one ortwo more lectures.Thank you.