[WEB4LIB] Re: Internet Troubleshooting

[Matthew Theobald]

A DNS is a Domain Name Server.
DNS servers convert domain names www.something...  to IP addresses
123.45.678.90.
Domain names were created as a way to make the Internet more human friendly so
we can use names instead of the numbers.

DNS servers across the Internet and are updated as new people register new
domain names and other people change their domain names or IP addresses.

Moreover, people change their files structures all the time and sometimes they
change the servers on which their DNS entries are pointed.  So sometimes DNS
servers have not cycled, or caught up with a change made by a web developer.

Many people do not make the distinction between the web, the Internet, and the
search engine.
Search engines, like yahoo and altavista, do not search the web in real time.
They are large databases or stored collection of a small percentage of the web
at a given point in time.  Some search engines update more frequently than
others. When people change file structures, let alone DNS or IP numbers, the
information becomes dated and you get a 404, etc...

Hope this helps! :-)

-Matt

"Margaret F. Dikel" wrote:

> >(c) if you were assigned the above topic, either as presenter or auditor,
> >what would be key items that you would want to cover/learn about?
>
> Just a few questions I'm always getting
>
> What's a DNS and why can't they find things?
> All those 404 401 etc messages you get when you connect to something
>    that isn't there?
> How come that web site was there yesterday and isn't there today (probably
>   closely related to DNS)?
>
> I think you should also use some of the Stupid Error Messages
> collected at http://ezzell.org/Error_Contest/Error_Contest.html
> to help lighten up the affair.  Some of them are really good.
>
> Margaret
>
> Margaret Dikel, MSLIS
> 11218 Ashley Dr.                The Riley Guide
> Rockville, MD  20852         www.rileyguide.com
> 301-984-4229                    www.dbm.com/jobguide
> 301-984-6390 FAX           mfriley at erols.com
>

--
Matthew S. Theobald, MLS
Information Specialist | Webmaster
Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System
See http://www.ihets.org
Mailto://theobald@ihets.org
Ring 317.263.8919