Summary

The use of mnemonic names instead of raw IP addresses dates back to the very beginning of the Internet's precursor. Since the beginning, this concept has depended on cooperation and collaboration to ensure the ubiquitous consistency of name-to-number translations. Although many helpful advances have been made, and DNS continues to evolve into an increasingly useful and dynamic tool, some members of the Internet community are dissatisfied with the pace of this technology's evolution. Consequently, the temptationand the rewardof stepping outside the bounds of standardization have only been heightened by the Internet's commercialization. The only way to avoid the pitfalls of such entrepreneurial initiative is to be aware of them.

Having thoroughly examined the names and naming systems used in the Internet, you should be adequately prepared for the next chapter, which explores the structure and mechanics of today's DNS.