CompTIA Network+ Practice Test

What is the primary role of the Domain Name System (DNS)?

1. Storing IP addresses

2. Resolving FQDNs to IP addresses

3. Securing data transmissions

4. Managing network traffic

The correct answer is: Resolving FQDNs to IP addresses

The primary role of the Domain Name System (DNS) is to resolve Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) into IP addresses. This function is essential for the operation of the internet and networks because humans typically use domain names (like www.example.com) to identify resources, while devices on the network use IP addresses to locate and communicate with one another. When a user enters a domain name in their browser, the DNS translates that name into its corresponding IP address, enabling the browser to access the desired resource. This process is crucial because it abstracts the complexity of numerical IP addresses from users, making internet navigation user-friendly. Without DNS, users would have to remember the numerical IP addresses of all the websites they wanted to visit, which is not practical. The other options relate to functions that are not primary to DNS. For instance, while DNS does involve storing records, its main activity centers around the resolution of those records, not merely storing IP addresses. Security and network traffic management relate to different aspects of network activities and are typically handled by other protocols and services. Thus, resolving FQDNs to IP addresses is the core function that defines the Domain Name System's utility within network architecture.