DNS server - what is it and how does it work?
Dla biznesu
22 July 2025
Every day when we surf the internet, DNS servers accompany us. Although few people realise it, they are one of the foundations on which the modern Internet is built. What is worth knowing about this technology? What does DNS stand for? These questions, among others, will be answered in this article!
DNS server - what is it?
The name comes from the abbreviation Domain Name System, which should be translated as Domain Name System. It is a solution that groups names on the web in a hierarchical manner. Every day, when we want to visit a site on the web, the DNS service speeds up the whole process considerably.
To access inpost.pl, you do not need to enter the IP address of the server. Just type inpost.pl in the search bar and press enter. The server's DNS address will automate and perform the entire process in the background, and you will be able to quickly view our website.
What exactly does the hierarchical system consist of? Country domains (.pl, .de, .cz, .us) and functional domains such as .com or .biz have an overarching role. Within these, lower-level domains, such as regional sub-domains, may be created:
- .rybnik.pl,
- .waw.pl,
- katowice.pl.
Each top-level domain has its own administrator, who is responsible, among other things, for setting rules concerning registration or the availability of a selected pool of addresses. In Poland, this is NASK, or the Research and Academic Computer Network.
The fact that practically all of us, regardless of where we live, can register a .us domain is due to the guidelines the organisation has just implemented. For example, a government agency on behalf of the United States, has restricted the availability of the .us domain only to residents and businesses operating within the borders of that country.
On the technical side, the DNS server structure is based on clusters. As of today, we have 13 such points, created in the largest server rooms in the world. If you are interested in the fastest DNS servers, you should undoubtedly look for companies which support top-level domains, for example .pl or .eu. 
What is a DNS server used for and how does it work?
In a nutshell, it is an identifier that, when a specific name is entered, a specific website is displayed on our computer. Importantly, the solution is multiplatform: it works exactly the same on MS Windows, Linux, macOS or mobile platforms. It is a unified standard that applies worldwide, including in countries that restrict access to the global data network.
However, it is worth noting that DNS server addresses are not only useful to us in a global data network, but also in a LAN structure. If we have connected several computers together, we will easily be able to establish a connection between them. This is typically the case when - under Linux, for example - we can create host and user accounts. The TCP/IP protocol can be used here.
In some situations, such as in large businesses, the WAN and LAN are connected via a router which, together with the server, acts as a gateway, a so-called gate. Users can access the Internet, e.g. Google search engine or selected services authorised by the administrator, but internal connections are also available, e.g. for shared files between different departments within the company.
It's a great communication system, which (if properly configured) also increases our security in real terms. From a technical point of view, such shared address lists or company documents are offline, so they should not fall prey to hacking attacks - unless cybercriminals break the security on the server, helped for example by outdated software.
Quite a few people are also looking for information on what DNS to set up to make sure our website works properly. The standard is to specify two DNS paths. If the main (so-called master) does not work, the fallback DNS (slave) takes over its function.
It is worth noting that professional web hosts focus on the highest quality here, so that the time required to "switch" to the secondary address will be counted in milliseconds, so that the user will not even notice that something has gone wrong. Nor will any message be displayed that the site cannot be displayed. 
Types of DNS servers
All, including secure DNSs, can be divided into two categories:
- basic,
- secondary.
The task of the former is to read data from the hosting to which the selected domain leads. This allows us to conclude that hosting and DNS are intertwined issues. The secondary server collects the data and then processes the information to display the web service of interest on our smartphone or computer.
The structure cited above can be further expanded. The best DNS also offers the possibility of establishing so-called caching points. These are servers that do not have an authoritative role, but only reduce the load on the auxiliary server by "taking on" some of the queries, for example those for cached names.
Sites with millions and sometimes billions of queries are also extending their DNS settings with forwarders. These reduce the number of unnecessary off-site queries. It can be argued that such a host is used to redirect traffic, for example, depending on where the user's query is coming from. Internet users from Asia may end up on different support servers than Europeans or North Americans, for example. This is a solution that works well for global projects. 
What factors affect the speed of DNS server response?
The key is the speed of the data transfer between the user (internet user) account and the host. This speed is largely dependent on the distance from the nearest DNS server node. If, for example, we want to access a website hosted in Japan, and this website does not have mirroring enabled, it is quite likely that we will wait a little longer for the website to load than for a website in the .pl domain, which is maintained on servers located, for example, in Warsaw.
Problems with the DNS server and long loading times can also result from poor site structure. The more additional requests a website makes, e.g. for pre-installed social media widgets, public files hosted e.g. on a virtual drive, or graphics, the greater the load on the DNS servers. This in turn translates into longer page load times.
How do we fix a DNS server that is lagging? First of all, we can use PageSpeed by Google. It's a simple, free tool that will quickly tell us what optimisation issues are worth paying attention to. Sometimes it's enough to optimise the redirect chain, remove unnecessary JS code or the widgets mentioned earlier to make the page load much faster.
We should also remember that DNSs are not given "once and for all". How do you change your DNS server? If you are hosting a site, simply use a solution such as CloudFlare - the company offers its own proprietary solutions, including fast connections to the Domain Name System.
It is also an additional security buffer - the service provider will protect the site against DDoS attacks, for example, or block attempts to attack the xmlrpc.php file, which is one of the weaker links in WordPress.
Changing DNS server addresses - how to configure?
If you want to change the DNS on your hosting, you need to select the appropriate tab in the admin panel for this purpose. Once you have found it, all you have to do is manually enter the new data and confirm the selection. Sometimes you have to wait a bit to see the results. The temporary files need to refresh. So if you want to verify that the new settings are already working, this can be done, for example, from a smartphone or from another browser on a PC that has not been used before.
If the lack of connection to the DNS server is due to problems with our ISP, you can seriously consider using free servers from Google.
These are available at: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. The service also works from computers and smartphones. All you need to do is to find the appropriate option in your internet connection settings and manually enter the aforementioned data there. Please note, however, that the price for fast DNS in this case will be that Mountain View will be sharing a large amount of your data with the company, e.g. about the websites you visit.
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