Articles tagged as "DNS"

Decentralized websites function by having their content separated from a central server. Instead, the content is stored in a decentralized way on the blockchain. The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is commonly used to store decentralized website data. IPFS is a peer-to-peer protocol and facilitates the decentralized storing and sharing of data, ensuring it could be accessible even if the original publisher of the content goes offline. It functions much like peer-to-peer torrent networks, distributing data across numerous nodes, eliminating single-point failures.

Traditional DNS domains do not work natively within the blockchain, however it is possible to “supercharge” a DNS domain name using the Ethereum Name Service(ENS) protocol as a bridge.

ENS records are managed by interacting with the blockchain. In order to make changes to your ENS-enabled DNS domain’s ENS records, you must authorize the transaction with your Ethereum wallet. ENS records associated with your domain are most easily managed through the ENS Manager App.

In this example, we will learn how to use the exact same IPFS location to host static website content for both a DNS name, and an ENS name. This negates the need for hosting files on a traditional web server or cloud infrastructure. In this scenario, an ENS .eth name can point its content record to the same exact IPFS location where the DNS domain retrieves IPFS content using DNSLink.

One common question is how users can host a website on the blockchain. There are a variety of ways websites can be hosted using the blockchain.

The following guides will help you setup and understand using your DNS domain within the ENS protocol.

Other guides found on this site rely on using Cloudflare as the DNS host provider. Cloudflare offers a free-tier level of DNS Hosting that also comes with an optional IPFS gateway solution. The IPFS gateway feature is used in the Host in Parallel DNS and ENS content from IPFS and Query Blockchain Content through DNS Records guides.

There are a number of traditional web2 infrastructure companies and services who have extended themselves into the blockchain ecosystem. Cloudflare is widely known for its content distribution network (CDN). They also provide DNS services and IPFS Gateway solutions. You can view their Cloudflare Web3 docs for more information.

Coinbase owns the DNS name, cb.id. They have imported the name into the ENS protocol so that they can issue subnames to their users.

In this example, we will learn how to use the exact same IPFS location to host static website content for both a DNS name, and an ENS name. This negates the need for hosting files on a traditional web server or cloud infrastructure. In this scenario, an ENS .eth name can point its content record to the same exact IPFS location where the DNS domain retrieves IPFS content using DNSLink.