DNS Resolver
A server that looks up DNS records on your behalf when you visit a website.
"DNS resolver" is the umbrella term for any component that issues DNS queries on a client's behalf. Three subtypes do different jobs: a stub resolver is the thin library built into every OS that hands off queries upstream; a recursive resolver (Cloudflare 1.1.1.1, Google 8.8.8.8, Quad9 9.9.9.9, the resolver an ISP ships) is the server that actually walks the hierarchy from root to TLD to authoritative nameserver and caches the result; a forwarding resolver sits in between (often on a home router or office DNS appliance) and proxies queries to a chosen recursive resolver without walking the tree itself. Most performance and privacy choices live at the recursive layer.
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