Névfeloldás

Névfeloldás, often translated as name resolution, is a fundamental process in computer networking that translates human-readable names into machine-readable identifiers. These identifiers are typically IP addresses, which computers use to locate and communicate with each other on a network. Without name resolution, users would have to remember and input the numerical IP addresses of every website or service they wanted to access, which is impractical and error-prone.

The most common system for name resolution on the internet is the Domain Name System (DNS). When a user types a website address, such as "wikipedia.org," into their web browser, their computer initiates a DNS query. This query is sent to a DNS resolver, which then searches a hierarchical database of domain names and their corresponding IP addresses. The DNS resolver consults various DNS servers, starting from the root servers and progressively querying down the hierarchy (Top-Level Domain servers, then authoritative name servers for the specific domain). Once the IP address for "wikipedia.org" is found, it is returned to the user's computer. The browser can then use this IP address to establish a connection with the web server hosting the website.

Other forms of name resolution exist, particularly within private networks. For instance, NetBIOS Name Service (NBNS) was used in older Windows networks, and technologies like mDNS (Multicast DNS) enable name resolution on local networks without a dedicated DNS server. The efficiency and reliability of name resolution are critical for the smooth operation of modern networks and the internet.