Kurdistan region Government

Ministry of higher education & Scientific Research

University of polytechnic Sulaimani
Computer science Institute / Network Department

Prepared by : Group B
Deyia Tarq
Mohammad Zana
Mihraban Qadir
Supervisor : Shelan
Kaziwa Najmadin
Table of Contents
1. Introduction

2. Aim and objective

3. Background theory/Methodology

3.1 What is a Server?

3.2 Types of Servers

3.3 What is a DNS server?

3.4 What is DNS caching?

3.5 How do DNS servers resolve a DNS query?

3.6 DHCP Server

3.7 Why use DHCP?

3.8 How DHCP servers obtain an IP address to a device on network ?

3.9 Benefits of DHCP

3.10 What does DHCP and DNS have in common?

4. Conclusion

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1- Introduction
In this report, we talk about the server in general, what are the types of servers, the role of
these servers, especially the DNS server and DHCP server, and how these two servers work.

2- Aim and objective

The aim of this report is to know the DNS server and DHCP server , and the benefit of both
of them, how both of them work individually, and what brings them together at work, and
the importance of both of them in networks

3. Background theory/Methodology
3.1 What is a Server?
In computing, a server is a piece
of computer hardware or software
(computer program) that provides
functionality for other programs or devices,
called "clients." This architecture is called
the client–server model. Servers can provide
various functionalities, often called
"services," such as sharing data
or resources among multiple clients or performing computations for a client.

3.2 The most widely used types of servers are as follows:

 Web Server.
 Database Server.
 Email Server.
 Web Proxy Server.
 DNS Server.
 FTP Server.
 File Server.
 DHCP Server.

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3.3 What is a DNS server?
The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet. When users type domain
names such as ‘google.com’ or ‘nytimes.com’ into web browsers, DNS is responsible for finding the
correct IP address for those sites. Browsers then use those addresses to communicate with origin
servers or CDN edge servers to access website information. This all happens thanks to DNS servers:
machines dedicated to answering DNS queries.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is made up of a hierarchy of 5 important components:

 Root Level
 Top-level Domains
 Second-level Domains
 Sub-Domains (Third-level Domains)
 Host

A root name server is a name server for the root zone of the Domain Name System (DNS) of
the Internet. It directly answers requests for records in the root zone and answers other requests
by returning a list of the authoritative name servers for the appropriate top-level domain (TLD).

TLD name server : maintains information for all the domain names that share a common domain
extension, such as .com, . net, or whatever comes after the last dot in a URL.

The examples of these Top-level Domains are given below:

Domain Purpose
.com commercial organizations
.edu educational organizations
.gov government institutions
.mil military groups
.net major network support centers
.org Nonprofit organizations and others
.int International organizations

3.4 What is DNS caching?

In addition to the process outlined above, recursive resolvers can also resolve DNS queries
using cached data. After retrieving the correct IP address for a given website, the resolver
will then store that information in its cache for a limited amount of time. During this time
period, if any other clients send requests for that domain name, the resolver can skip the
typical DNS lookup process and simply respond to the client with the IP address saved in
the cache.

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3.5 How do DNS servers resolve a DNS query?
In a typical DNS query without any caching, there are four servers that work together to
deliver an IP address to the client: recursive resolvers, root name servers, TLD name
servers, and authoritative name servers.

The DNS recursor (also referred to as the DNS resolver) is a server that receives the query
from the DNS client, and then interacts with other DNS servers to hunt down the correct IP.
Once the resolver receives the request from the client, the resolver then actually behaves
as a client itself, querying the other three types of DNS servers in search of the right IP.

3.6 DHCP Server

A DHCP Server is a network server that automatically provides and assigns IP addresses,
default gateways and other network parameters to client devices. It relies on the standard
protocol known as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol or DHCP to respond to broadcast
queries by clients.

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3.7 Why use DHCP?
Every device on a TCP/IP-based network must have a unique unicast IP address to access the
network and its resources. Without DHCP, IP addresses for new computers or computers that are
moved from one subnet to another must be configured manually; IP addresses for computers that
are removed from the network must be manually reclaimed.

With DHCP, this entire process is automated and managed centrally. The DHCP server maintains a
pool of IP addresses and leases an address to any DHCP-enabled client when it starts up on the
network. Because the IP addresses are dynamic (leased) rather than static (permanently assigned),
addresses no longer in use are automatically returned to the pool for reallocation.

3.8 How DHCP servers obtain an IP address to a device on

network ?
When a DHCP client broadcasts DHCP Discover messages, only a DHCP server on the same network
segment as the DHCP client can receive the messages. When a DHCP client accesses a network for
the first time, it does not know the IP address of the DHCP server. To learn this information, the
client broadcasts a DHCP Discover message in which the destination IP address is 255.255.255.255
to all devices (including the DHCP server or relay agent) on the network segment. The DHCP
Discover message includes the client's MAC address .

The DHCP server on the same network segment as the DHCP client receives the DHCP Discover
message, selects an available IP address from the address pool that is on the same network
segment as the IP address of the interface that receives the DHCP Discover message, and then
sends a DHCP Offer message carrying the selected IP address to the DHCP client.

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3.9 Benefits of DHCP
DHCP provides the following benefits.

 Reliable IP address configuration. DHCP minimizes configuration errors caused by

manual IP address configuration, such as typographical errors, or address conflicts
caused by the assignment of an IP address to more than one computer at the same
time.
 Reduced network administration. DHCP includes the following features to reduce
network administration:

 Centralized and automated TCP/IP configuration.

 The ability to define TCP/IP configurations from a central location.
 The ability to assign a full range of additional TCP/IP configuration values by means of
DHCP options.
 The efficient handling of IP address changes for clients that must be updated
frequently, such as those for portable devices that move to different locations on a
wireless network.
 The forwarding of initial DHCP messages by using a DHCP relay agent, which eliminates
the need for a DHCP server on every subnet.

3.10 What does DHCP and DNS have in common?

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and DNS (Domain Name System) both work
across the client-server architecture though they are different terms.
While DNS maps the name of the domain to the IP address, DHCP is a protocol that assigns
the IP address to the host in a network either dynamically or statically.
DHCP Server responsible of send these address to the host:
 IP address for the host
 subnet mask
 default gateway
 DNS IP address

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5. Conclusion
From this report we conclude the importance of a DNS server, because without this
server we cannot open websites, because DNS matches IP addresses with human-
readable domain names, making it easier for people to visit websites. Because it is
difficult for a person to memorize the site numbers ( IP address ), but it is possible to
memorize their names, as well as knowing the importance of the DHCP server, as it
supports computers in obtaining an IP address automatically, and this saves us time
and makes our work easier.

Reference
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Server_(computing)
* https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/dns/what-is-a-dns-server/
* https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/dhcp/dhcp-
top
* https://www.univention.com/blog-en/2019/03/brief-introduction-dhcp-dns/
* https://dnsmap.io/articles/what-are-top-level-domain-(tld)-name-servers