DNS: Domain Name Service

The Domain Name Service is also know as name server. It translates IP addresses to system names and system names to IP addresses.

The DNS is responsible for translating

nickel.sao.nrc.ca

which humans understand, to the address

132.246.10.3

which routers (the equipment responsible to route the packets through the network) and computers understand.

NRC's main name server (and thus, DNS) in Ottawa is

dns1.nrc.ca