DNS (Domain Name System) is the internet's phone book. It translates human-readable domain names like truecorehosting.com into IP addresses like 159.195.31.27 that computers use to find each other. Understanding it helps you diagnose issues and make informed decisions about your domain configuration.
Step 1: Your Browser Checks Its Cache
When you type truecorehosting.com and press Enter, your browser first checks its local DNS cache. If it made the same lookup recently and the TTL (time to live) hasn't expired, it uses the cached answer and skips the rest of the steps.
If there's no cached answer, it asks your operating system's DNS resolver.
Step 2: Your OS Asks a Recursive Resolver
Your OS is configured to use a DNS resolver — usually your ISP's, or a public one like 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) or 8.8.8.8 (Google). This resolver handles the work of finding the answer.
The resolver has its own cache. If it recently looked up truecorehosting.com, it returns the cached answer immediately.
Step 3: The Recursive Resolver Asks a Root Server
If the resolver has no cached answer, it starts from the top. It contacts one of the 13 root nameserver clusters (A through M) to ask which nameservers are authoritative for .com domains.
The root server doesn't know the answer to your specific query, but it knows who to ask next.
Step 4: The Resolver Asks the TLD Nameserver
The resolver now asks a .com nameserver: "who is authoritative for truecorehosting.com?" The TLD nameserver returns the nameservers for that specific domain — in our case, ember.truecorehosting.com, litespeed.truecorehosting.com, and spark.truecorehosting.com.
These nameservers are the ones we control and set when you register a domain with us as your nameserver.
Step 5: The Resolver Asks Our Nameserver
The resolver now queries our nameserver directly: "what is the A record for truecorehosting.com?"
Our nameserver holds the authoritative answer: 159.195.31.27. It also tells the resolver the TTL — how long to cache this answer before asking again.
Step 6: Your Browser Connects
The resolver returns the IP address to your browser. Your browser opens a TCP connection to port 443 (HTTPS) at that IP address, completes the TLS handshake, and sends an HTTP request. Our server responds with the page.
The whole DNS resolution process typically takes 20–100ms the first time. Subsequent requests use cached answers and add near-zero overhead.
TTL and Propagation
TTL (Time to Live) is the number of seconds resolvers should cache a DNS answer. Our default TTL is 3600 seconds (1 hour).
When you change a DNS record — for example, updating an A record to point to a new server — resolvers that have cached the old answer will keep serving it until their TTL expires. This is what people mean by "DNS propagation" — it's the process of waiting for all resolvers to expire their caches and pick up the new answer.
We lower TTL to 300 seconds (5 minutes) before making changes that require fast cutover (like migrating a server). After the change is confirmed, we restore it to 3600.