rotnavneserverne

Rotnavneserverne, often translated as root name servers, are a critical component of the Domain Name System (DNS). They are a set of 13 servers, logically distributed globally, that hold the records for the DNS root zone. This root zone contains information about the top-level domains (TLDs) such as .com, .org, and .net, as well as country code TLDs like .uk or .de.

When a user types a domain name into their browser, like example.com, their computer needs to translate this human-readable name into an IP address. This translation process, known as DNS resolution, begins with the user's computer querying a local DNS resolver. If the resolver doesn't have the IP address cached, it will initiate a recursive query. The first step in this recursive query is to contact one of the rotnavneserverne.

The rotnavneserverne do not store the IP addresses of individual websites. Instead, they direct the resolver to the authoritative name servers responsible for the specific TLD. For example, if the request is for example.com, the rotnavneserverne will point the resolver to the name servers that manage the .com TLD. These TLD name servers then direct the resolver to the authoritative name servers for the example.com domain, which finally provide the IP address. The operation and maintenance of these root name servers are overseen by various organizations, with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) playing a central coordination role.