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What protocol and port does DNS operate on?

  1. TCP/25

  2. UDP/67

  3. TCP/20

  4. UDP/53

The correct answer is: UDP/53

DNS, or Domain Name System, primarily operates on UDP port 53. This protocol is used for sending queries and responses between clients and the DNS servers. The use of UDP is advantageous for DNS because it allows for quicker communication without the overhead of establishing a connection, which is beneficial given the large number of DNS queries that need to be processed. In addition, while DNS can use TCP for certain operations, such as zone transfers when large amounts of data are exchanged between servers, the fundamental operation of DNS name resolution usually occurs over UDP. Thus, knowing that DNS operates on UDP port 53 is crucial for understanding network configuration and troubleshooting DNS-related issues.