Why is it that .com is such a widely used suffix to websites, what does it stand for and why does it matter what the suffixes are when the DNS server converts the websites to their respective IP addresses anyways?
In: Technology
To answer your second question:
A complete lookup of a domain name actually runs backwards, starting at the end.
So say you’re looking up foo.random.com and you’re wanting to do a full lookup rather than trusting your immediate DNS server.
First off, you would start by consulting a [root name server](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_name_server) and asking it who controls .com.
That server will then answer and direct you to a server run by Verisign, who own the .com domain. If you were instead looking up random.org, it would send you to Afilias, who runs .org. Or if you looked up random.xxx, it would send you to Uniregistry. Or if you asked for random.app, it would send you to Google.
You’d then ask Verisign’s server “Who is the nameserver for random.com?” and it will tell you the answer. This will typically point towards a server owned by a domain registrar, like Namecheap or GoDaddy, though large sites will often operate their own.
Then you ask that server “What is the IP address for foo.random.com?” and it gives you an answer.
Lookup complete, you now know who to connect to to get the site (or other service) that you were wanting.
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