How does DNS work

There is one thing about DNS that I do not understand.
Can anyone explain it to me.

I have registered the domain name kom2000.nu at the
registrar for the "nu" domain. I have then added
references from kom2000.nu to the host we are using
for this service, into the DNS servers at my university
department and at Stockholm University.

I can easily understand that someone looking for
"kom2000.nu" will first turn to his local DNS server.
If this server does not contain the information,
it is easy for me to understand that the request
is forwarded to the DNS server for the "nu" domain.

But the information for "kom2000.nu" is *not* stored
in the "nu" domain DNS server, it is stored in the
"su.se" and "dsv.su.se" DNS servers.

Suppose someone somewhere far away looks for "kom2000.nu".
How can his name server know that this information
is available from the "su.se"? There is nothing
in the name "kom2000.nu" that tells you to look
at that particular DNS server?

The only solution I can guess at on how it works,
is that there are some central DNS servers which
accumulate all DNS entries from all the world into
large central data bases. Is this how it works?
-- 
Jacob Palme <jpalme@dsv.su.se> (Stockholm University and KTH)
for more info see URL: http://www.dsv.su.se/jpalme/

Received on Monday, 9 October 2000 05:57:03 UTC