What are: DNS, DHCP, IP Addresses and Subnet Mask

From http://www.excitingip.com/361/what-are-dns-dhcp-ip-addresses-and-subnet-mask/

This article gives an introduction to DNS and DHCP – what they are and why you need them. There is also a small explanation on what is an IP Address and what is a subnet mask.
这篇文章介绍了DNS和DHCP-它们是什么和为什么需要它们， 同时也简单介绍了IP地址和子网掩码。

DNS – Domain Name System
DNS is a hierarchical representation of all the IT devices and their sub-domains in a (company) network. So, in case you see an address like mail.subdomain.company.com, you can easily recognize the name of the system (mail), name of the sub-domain (sub-domain), name of the company (company) and the name of the primary domain (.com).
DNS-域名系统
DNS是一个（公司）网络中所有的IT设备和它们的子设备的层次表达。所以，就像 mail.subdomain.company.com 这个地址， 你可以很容易看出这个系统的名称(mail)， 子域名(sub-domain)，公司名(company) 和 主域名(.com) 。

This makes it easy to maintain a database of all the IT systems of an organization as each device is referred by a name and there is an appropriate sub-domain for locating them. It also becomes easier for various devices operating on the network to advertise and find each other’s location.
这样使得维护一个组织的所有的IT设备数据库变得更容易，每一个设备都可以通过名称和合适的子域名来定位。而且更加容易通知网络上的设备和找到它们的位置。

More importantly, a DNS Server converts the IP addresses in to domain names and vice versa so that the user wanting to access a certain service in the network can remember the (easily to remember) domain name than their individual IP address(es). Applications like Microsoft’s Windows 2008/2003, Unix/Linux based BIND and certain appliances with built-in DNS/DHCP servers can provide the DNS service in a network.
更重要的是， 一个DNS服务器可以将IP地址和域名相互转换，这样用户就可以在网络中通过域名来访问某一个确切的服务。比如像微软的Windows 2008/2003,基于BIND的Unix/Linux和其他内含DNS/DHCP servers 的应用可以在网络中提供DNS服务。

DHCP – Dynamic Host Control Protocol
A DHCP server automatically assigns the IP addresses for a device. Any device, before communicating with any other device in the network needs an IP address. These IP addresses are given to the network devices dynamically by a DHCP server (IP addresses ought to be within a certain range and the range is already specified).
动态主机控制协议
一个DHCP服务器可以自动给一个设备注册一个IP地址。任何设备在和其他设备通讯之前必须有一个IP地址。这些IP地址都是由DHCP服务器来动态分配的（这些IP地址限定在一定的范围内并且这个范围已经限定了）

The IP addresses assigned this way are not permanent – they are actually leased for a certain amount of time to the devices (till they log-out of the network, for example). The next time when they log-in, the same device may get the same IP address or a different one. One advantage of having a DHCP Server to assign IP addresses is, it will monitor and ensure that same IP address is not assigned twice in a network.
这样分配的地址并不是永久的-实际上他们只是租借这个地址一段时间（比如直到这个设备退出网络）。下一次这个设备再次接入该网络时，获取到的IP地址和这次可能相同，也可能不同。使用一个DHCP服务器的好处是避免在同一个网络中把一个IP地址分配两次。

Certain applications (and the devices that host them) require static addresses and these static IP addresses can be excluded from being allocated to other devices by the DHCP Server.
某些应用和拥有它们的设备需要静态IP地址，通过DHCP服务器避免这些静态IP地址被分配给其他的设备。

There are three more things that need to be explained while we are on the topic of DNS and DHCP servers. They are: IP addresses, Subnet mask and Default gateway.
关于DNS和DHCP有三个名词需要解释：IP地址，子网掩码，默认网关。

IP addresses: IP addresses are the Network ID given to network devices to identify them on the network and to enable different devices to interact with each other. Unlike the physical addresses (MAC address) which is a permanent address set by the manufacturer, the IP addresses are either configured manually (static IP address) or they are configured by a DHCP server, where the IP addresses assigned to the clients changes every time the device boots up.
IP地址：IP地址是用来鉴别网络设备的网络ID，以便于来和同一网络的其他设备进行交互。和厂商预设定的物理地址不同，IP地址可以通过手动配置，比如静态IP，或者由DHCP服务器动态分配，设备对应的IP地址在每次设备启动时会改变。

There are two type of IP addresses – Private IP address, which is a range of IP address that can be given to network devices of a company (which is used only within the company) and Public IP address, which are used in Internet for identifying websites/ publicly connected servers etc. These public IP addresses can be obtained from an ISP and are permanent addresses which can be accessed from anywhere on the Internet.
有两种类型的IP地址-私有的IP地址，比如一个公司的网络设备的IP地址集合。还有一种公网IP地址，用于互联网上区分网址或者公共服务器之类的。这些公网IP可以从ISP获取并且是永久的，在互联网的任何地方都可以访问到这个IP。

There are addressing schemes (IPv4) which take care of the format of these IP addresses like their length, no. of bytes occupied by them,etc. The latest naming convention is IPv6, about which you can read in detail, from this link.
IPv4方案是通过指定地址格式比如地址长度，字节数等来进行寻址。最新的IP地址命名规则是IPv6，欲解详情，请访问这个链接。

Subnet Mask: A subnet mask basically gives information on network and host portion of the address. It also helps to identify which part of IP address is reserved for the network and which part is available for host use. In short, it also enables to calculate if two IP addresses are in the same subnet or not. A network address (subnet) of a host can be determined by knowing the IP address and its subnet mask. The range of IP addresses possible on the network and the broadcast address of that network can also be identified.
子网掩码：子网掩码主要是提供网络信息和主机的部分地址。它也可以用来区分IP地址的哪一部分是网络的保留部分，哪一部分是可用地址。简单的说，子网掩码可以区分两个IP地址是否在同一个子网内。

One important application of the subnet mask is to identify if the host is in the same network as the device it wants to communicate with. If it is, then the host sends a ARP request to determine the MAC address of the system to communicate with it in the data link layer. If the device is in a remote network, the device routes the packet to a gateway in it’s routing table that is aware of the remote network.
子网掩码的一个重要的应用是 区分该设备去通讯的主机是否是在同一个网络中，如果在同一个网络中，主机就会发送一个ARP请求去确定该设备在数据链路层的通讯MAC地址。如果通讯的设备在一个远程网络，设备会发送数据包到一个可达远程网络的路由表中的一个网关。

A default gateway is a network setting on a computer that specifies the IP address of the computer / router the network traffic should be sent to, when the traffic is not on the same subnet as the sending computer.
默认网关是一台电脑的一个网络设置，它指定了网络中的电脑或者路由的流量默认发送的地址，当流量不在一个子网中时作为发送端。