A Domain Name Server (DNS) is a computer that uses networking software in order to save a database of network IP addresses and domain names for other Internet hosts. A DNS helps client computers use the web more efficiently by storing previous address look-ups, which allows them to surf the Internet faster.

Installing the DNS Server Service
There are a number of methods which you can use to install the DNS server service on your Windows server.

Install the DNS server service on a stand-alone computer using the Add or Remove Program applet of Control Panel.
Install DNS when you install the first domain controller for an Active Directory domain.

Understanding the Purpose of Host Names
In TCP/IP based networks, the packets that are transmitted over the network contain the following IP addresses:
The IP address of the computer sending the packet

The IP address of the destination computer intended to receive the packet.

DNS Zones Overview
A DNS zone is the contiguous portion of the DNS domain name space over which a DNS server has authority. A zone is a portion of a namespace. It is not a domain. A domain is a branch of the DNS namespace. A DNS zone can contain one or more contiguous domains. A DNS server can be authoritative for multiple DNS zones.

Domain Name Service (DNS) Overview
Domain Name Service (DNS) enables applications and users to connect to hosts in TCP/IP based networks by specifying a name. DNS is a hierarchically distributed database that creates hierarchical names that can be resolved to IP addresses. The IP addresses are then resolved to MAC addresses.

DNS Queries Overview
The naming system used by DNS is a hierarchical namespace, called the DNS namespace. The DNS namespace has a unique root. The root can contain numerous subdomains. Each subdomain also can contain multiple subdomains. Each domain registered in DNS is connected to a DNS name server.

An Overview of the Domain Renaming Feature
With the Windows NT 4 domain model, you had to completely rebuild an existing domain if you wanted to change the names of any of your existing domains.

A DNS zone is the contiguous portion of the DNS domain name space over which a DNS server has authority or is authoritative. DNS zones contain either domains or subdomains. The DNS namespace can be divided into multiple zones. Users can even host all their zones on a single DNS server.

Host Name Resolution Overview
In networks running the TCP/IP protocol suite, IP address information is used to forward packet to the destination computer. The packets that are transmitted over the network contain the IP address of the computer sending the packet; and the IP address of the destination computer intended to receive the packet.