DNS Servers

A DNS Server is a machine that listens for and responds to DNS queries.  All DNS Servers use the well-known port number 53 (both TCP and UDP), no matter what kind of server it is.  There are many different roles a DNS server can play: it can be a referral server such as the top-level servers, it can be an authoritative server, which means it is a definitive source for information, or it can be a caching server, which simply resolves requests.

The most common DNS server is BIND, which stands Berkley Internet Name Domain, an free open-source implementation available on just about every platform.  The most recent version of BIND is 9.2.3.

Microsoft also includes a DNS server in their Windows Server operating system.  In addition to standard DNS functionality, Microsoft has extended the DNS system with their Active Directory solution, which handles everything from domain authentications to mailboxes and security groups.

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