What Is the Domain Name System (DNS)? The domain name system (DNS) makes it possible for browsers, apps, and servers to load internet resources. Think of it like a phonebook—except instead of associating a person’s name with a phone number, it maps a domain name (e.g., okta.com) to an internet protocol (IP) address that can be understood by systems. We benefit from the domain name system every time we use the internet—whether we’re searching, shopping, or streaming. In fact, it’s because of the DNS that we don’t have to memorise complex IP addresses (e.g., 104.18.211.105) to access sites and services. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at how the domain name system works and offer some best practices for DNS configuration and security. But before we can do that, it’s important to understand some key terms. Domain name system terms and definitions What is a domain name? In.