How DNS Works Visually

Visual guide on understanding how DNS (Domain Name System) works when making requests on the internet. In this video we will understand:

- DNS
- Recursive resolvers
- TLD top-level domain name
- IANA root nameservers
- Authoritative nameservers

[td]

I never comment on videos but holy shit man, I've been looking for a clear visual representation for 2 days now and your video finally explained it to me in a way I actually understand without skipping anything. Thank you so much! You are amazing :)

[jessiz-]

This is great, loved the clear and clean visual presentation - it's exactly the level of detail I was looking for. Thanks!

[tomelam]

The basics of DNS (not the details of the protocols or formats of packets or such minutiae) seem so simple to me that why they have eluded me all these years could only be due to my laziness. However, having been bitten by the problem with my subdomain, I thought I’d look for a clear and succinct explanation and found one: How DNS Works Visually - YouTube

I know, I know. I should learn this by reading. However, it’s actually faster for me if I watch a video with good diagrams and good narration. If the video is on YouTube I typically speed it up by a factor of about 1.5 to save my time.

Near the end of Ryan's video, the schematic diagram of the flow of data between the client and all the servers encapsulates the key points beautifully.

[xanvong]

Thank you ! Very well explaining with graphics. It is easier to capture the information!

[nonplussedperson]

This was amazing, especially the end explanation. I really appreciate it!

[picopita]

THE best video on DNS - explained so clearly. Please keep making IT videos.

[darccau]

Thanks for explaining, for me DNS is one of the most complicated network services to understand, and you make me understand

[MrLordSeong]

Honestly, it makes it much more clear when you put the whole thing in one pic instead of dividing it into multiple sections explaining each concept like the others.... Thanks you sir

[AhmedSalama-mggu]

Very clear, simple and easy to understand . Keep the good work ryan

[collinxsmith]

very clear and informative! Thank you. I didn't know the flow went past the root name servers, them being called "root" and all haha. I wonder who manages the TLD and authoritative nameservers?

[just_some_bigfoot_hacking_you]

Some ppl are still confused why we have many DNS servers. And so why we have so many DNS servers? Simple, to avoid single point of failure. For example, just imagine when we only have one server. What if that server failed, who's gonna back it up? Imagine if Google's own server failed, or any network just for reference. That's how and why network engineers came up with multiple servers. And basically, when you only have one server, just imagine the struggle how it will handle the load of traffic. And having multiple server architecture also grants better security.

[navneethegde]

Amazing explanation! and great presentation

[EpicAOEsRealm]

Thanks for all the work you put in your videos!

[AmongUs-qtuo]

thank you so so so much man! This is the greatest video on how DNS works! thank you so much!

[KimaniWaNdirangu]

I "essentially" enjoyed this DNS video.

[Dave-dley]

this is an awesome video and explanation! Thank you Ryan

[tepidrachet]

Hey, thanks for the explanation! Clear and informative. A few improvements I would suggest to make it clearer and easier to follow:

1. Your images work well along with the explanations you give, but I think you could take a bit more care in how they are laid out. For instance at 7:00 in the video, your diagram has become quite complicated and there are lots of lines which cross over other lines; it's tough to remember what was happening in the early stages if the lines are obscured by the later parts! Another example: at 10:20 your arrows are a bit all over the place, making it hard to tell at a glance what order the requests/responses are sent.

2. You stumbled once or twice in your explanation, and I also noticed a lot of filler words/phrases, eg 'Essentially', or 'What's known as'. Most of the time these don't really add anything (It's not 'essentially' Google's homepage, it IS Google's homepage). Maybe you could try writing down what you're planning to say first and then reading it as a script - this will make it easier to streamline your explanations a little (and make the video shorter and clearer).

3. Some minor graphical glitches, eg the numbers for your steps aren't centred very well in their boxes. Small details but it was a bit of a distraction for me!

Enjoyed the video, looking forward to seeing more :)

[azizulhakim]

Amazing explanation! Thanks for the video sir.

[classover]

Thanks for your work. It's impressive!!! Love from China!

[MS-mqgd]

Very Clearly and Neatly Explained...#love from india