What is a Hostname?
To answer the question “What is a Hostname?”, it is a label given to a device and used to identify the device in different electronic communication channels, like the Internet. It helps users quickly remember and access network resources by acting as a human-readable address. Simple names of a single word or phrase are called hostnames; more complex names, such as domain names included in the Domain Name System (DNS), can also be used.
In this article, we will discuss:
What Does a Hostname Mean
Let's give an example for reference which is mail.example.com. From this example, the hostname is mail, and the network/ISP (Internet Service Provider) is example.com. Note that to connect a computer to the internet, DNS (Domain Name System) is required.
The DNS then links a hostname to an IP (Internet Protocol) address. Note that an IP address allows connection between computers/devices to communicate within a network that utilizes the Internet Protocol.
Local and Internet Hostname Examples
Suppose there are two hosts, hello and hi, which are computer names. If both are connected to a network named whats, they become domain names called hello.whats and hi.whats. With a single network, the hosts (hello and hi) are identified as hello or hi.
Suppose the network app is further linked to another network (for example: “app”). The domain names will now become hello.whats.app and hi.whats.app. With two networks, the hosts are now identified as hello.whats and hi.whats.
Now, suppose that the two networks are further linked to the internet. The domain names will become hello.whats.app.com and hi.whats.app.com. Note that these domains contain a TLD (Top-Level Domain). When a domain name includes a TLD (for example, .com,.org,.net,.gov, and more), it will be called an FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name).
Generally, a hostname is an FQDN consisting of the hostname/computer name, a period, and the domain name. For example, mail.example.com consists of the local hostname mail and the domain name example.com. DNS can convert this type of hostname to an IP address.
Hostname vs IP Address
A hostname is a label given to a computer, printer, or server on a network. Its human-readable format makes it easier for users to remember and access network resources. Something as basic as office-printer or your-computer might be a hostname. Hostnames can be part of more complex structures, such as domain names inside the Domain Name System (DNS) or essential names of a single word or phrase.
In contrast, an IP address is a unique number that is linked to every device on a computer network that directs over the Internet Protocol. On a network, it acts as a technical address that enables devices to locate and connect. IP addresses are not meant for human memory, in contrast to hostnames. There are two main versions of them: IPv4 (192.168.1.1), based on a 32-bit address scheme, and IPv6 (2001:0db8:85a3:0000:8a2e:0370:7334), which employs a 128-bit address scheme to support many internet devices.
Review
Let's dive into Hostnames, explaining what they are and how they differ from IP addresses.
- What Does a Hostname Mean: A user-friendly name is assigned to a device on a network, making it easier to remember than an IP address.
- Hostname Examples: mail.example.com breaks down into mail (hostname) and example.com (domain name).
- Local vs. Internet Hostnames: Hostnames can be simple within a network (e.g., hello) or become complex FQDNs (Fully Qualified Domain Names) with subdomains and TLDs (Top-Level Domains) when connected to the internet (e.g., hello.whats.app.com).
- Hostname vs. IP Address: Hostnames are for humans, and IP addresses are for machines. Hostnames are easy to remember, and IP addresses are long strings of numbers used by devices to connect.