DNS

DNS stands for "Domain Name Service", which is a data query service used on the Internet for translating hostnames into Internet addresses. DNS can be configured to use a sequence of name servers, based on the domains in the name being looked for, until a match if found.

What this means on campus?

An example of this is that the website URL my.bgsu.edu is really located at the IP 129.1.11.70. The DNS servers of the Internet redirect access to the URL to the IP of the server that hosts the webportal for BGSU.

On campus, the DNS allows computers to have even easier access to available websites. For example, typing webmail into the URL of your browser while on campus will take you to the university's e-mail system. If you are off-campus, you might be directed to your ISP's e-mail system or to a non-existent page. If you wanted to access the university's e-mail system from off-campus, you need to include the entire URL of webmail.bgsu.edu. Other examples of this are my, www, or rcc.

External Reference

• Wikipedia article on DNS.