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How Email Works

Page 3 : Domain Name System (DNS)

After you click on the send button, your computer will send a request to your ISP's Domain Name Server which is configurated in your computer modem.

Domain Name System (DNS)

I guess that your friend email address is probably something like this : friend@muscle.com or darling@sweet.com, etc. This is very easy for you to remember, but how about the computers? The computers can only read data, they know nothing about friend@muscle.com or darling@sweet.com. Don't worry, human beings are very clever. To solve this probem, the DNS is introduced. The Domain Name Server can translate domain name (for example, muscle.com or sweet.com) into numerical IP address (like 199.58.186.102), which computers on the Internet use to communicate with each other. Most, but not all, ISP will set up and maintain the DNS information for their customers.

Hey, Let's Other Computer Understand You

While the server is checking the numerical IP address for the email, the email begain to worry again. The email talk to the server "What if your table do not contain my required IP address ?" The server said "Don't worry, my table contain the information of most of my friends around the world. In case I cannot find a IP address in my table, I can ask my mother (another server) for help. If my mother also don't know, she will ask my grandmother ( another server)...etc.. Finally, the IP address of destination was found. And the email address of the packets is translated into numerical IP address. Therefore, the email can communicated with other computers while travel over the Internet to the destination. The numerical IP address was sent back to your computer and ready for the long journey.

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