Which protocol resolves domain names to IP addresses on the Internet?

• A. DHCP
• B. TLS
• C. DNS
• D. SMTP

Answer: (C)

Domain name resolution is handled by the Domain Name System, which translates human-friendly domain names into IP addresses that devices use to reach servers. When a client needs the IP for a domain, it asks a DNS resolver, which may query root servers, then top-level domain servers, and finally the domain’s authoritative servers to obtain the exact address. The result is cached so future lookups are faster, reducing the time to load pages. DNS records designate how names map to addresses (such as A for IPv4 or AAAA for IPv6) and support the overall functioning of the Internet by providing a scalable, hierarchical lookup mechanism.

DHCP assigns IP addresses to devices on a local network, not domain-name to IP resolution. TLS provides encrypted communication over a network, and SMTP is used for sending email.