Which statement best describes the primary function of DNS?

• A. Translates domain names to IP addresses.
• B. Encrypts web traffic.
• C. Routes network packets by destination.
• D. Stores user credentials.

Answer: (A)

DNS translates domain names into IP addresses that computers use to locate services on the network. Humans remember names like example.com, but networks route traffic to numeric IPs such as 93.184.216.34. When a client needs a resource, a DNS resolver looks up the domain, querying a hierarchy of servers until it returns the corresponding IP. The client then connects to that address to access the service. This mapping is the essential function because without IP addresses, routers can’t forward traffic to the right destination. DNS can also cache results to speed repeated lookups and support both IPv4 and IPv6 records.

Note that encrypting web traffic is handled by TLS/HTTPS, routing is done by IP-level routers using destination addresses, and storing user credentials is a separate authentication/storage concern.