Paul Mockapetris @ DNS: The Computer Scientist Who Created the Internet's Phone Book

Paul Mockapetris tells the story of how he created the Domain Name System -- DNS -- and helped the Internet become infinitely scalable.

Show Notes

The Domain Name System -- DNS -- is like the Internet's phone book. It's how computers match URLs to IP addresses in order to help you do things like look at web pages or send emails.

Sure, the system seems like an obvious way of structuring the Internet now. After all, can you imagine the Web without Google.com and Amazon.com and Facebook.com? But the current structure of Internet domain names wasn't always an obvious solution to the problem.

In this episode of Web Masters, you'll hear how the Domain Name System came into being from the man who invented DNS, Paul Mockapetris. Paul's vision for Internet routing was critical for making the Internet infinitely scalable. But, when he proposed it, he wasn't actually in a position to implement his vision. So, before his system could be adopted, he had to make sure nobody else's proposals were ever considered. Luckily, he was given a perfect opportunity to intervene.

For a complete transcript of the episode, click here.

What is Web Masters?

Web Masters is an original podcast that explores the history of the Internet through the stories of some of its most important innovators. In each episode, host Aaron Dinin, a serial entrepreneur and digital media scholar, talks with Internet entrepreneurs who created important websites, tools, services, and features. Some are hugely popular, some you’ve never heard of, and all of them have impacted everything you do online. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how the Internet has enabled -- and continues to create -- some of the greatest business opportunities in history from the people who have proven they know how to build successful Internet businesses.