2.5 Resolvers

Resolvers are the clients that access name servers. Programs running on a host that need information from the domain namespace use the resolver. The resolver handles:

• Querying a name server

• Interpreting responses (which may be resource records or an error)

• Returning the information to the programs that requested it

In Windows Server 2003, the resolver is a set of library routines, linked into programs such as telnet and ftp, and a system service called the DNS Client, which is responsible for caching records that applications have requested. The resolver relies almost entirely upon the name servers it queries. It has the smarts to put together a query, to send it and wait for an answer, and to resend the query if it isn't answered, but that's about all. Most of the burden of finding an answer to the query is placed on the name server. The DNS specs call this kind of resolver a stub resolver.

Other implementations of DNS have had smarter resolvers that could do more sophisticated things, such as follow referrals to locate the name servers authoritative for a particular zone.