What is the name of the distributed, hierarchical internet database that maps FQDNs to IP addresses?

The name of the distributed, hierarchical internet database that maps Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) to IP addresses is DNS, which stands for Domain Name System. DNS plays a crucial role in the functionality of the internet by allowing users to access websites using human-readable domain names instead of numerical IP addresses.

When a user types a domain name into a web browser, the DNS translates that domain into an IP address that computers use to identify each other on the network. This translation is essential for routing internet traffic effectively. DNS is structured in a hierarchical manner, which allows it to efficiently manage the vast number of domain names and their associated IP addresses across the global internet infrastructure. By employing a distributed database model, DNS can ensure reliability and speed in resolving domain names, distributing queries across multiple servers around the world.

In contrast, HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is used for transferring web pages, FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is utilized for transferring files between computers, and SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the protocol used for sending emails. While these protocols are important for various functionalities on the internet, they do not serve the purpose of mapping domain names to IP addresses, which is specifically the role of DNS.