DNS stands for Domain Name System. It is a decentralized naming system for devices connected to the internet. DNS translates human-readable domain names (like example.com) into IP addresses (like 192.0.2.1) that computers use to identify each other on the network.
In the context of email, DNS plays a crucial role in the email delivery process. Email servers use DNS to locate and communicate with the mail servers of the recipient’s domain. Specifically, DNS records such as MX (Mail Exchange) records are used to specify the mail servers responsible for receiving email for a particular domain. When an email is sent, the sender’s mail server queries DNS to find the MX records for the recipient’s domain. Based on this information, the email is then routed to the appropriate mail server for delivery to the recipient’s inbox.
In summary, DNS enables the proper routing and delivery of email by mapping domain names to the corresponding mail servers responsible for handling incoming messages.