What technology is responsible for domain name to IP address resolution?

The technology responsible for the resolution of domain names to IP addresses is the Domain Name System (DNS). DNS plays a crucial role in the functionality of the internet by translating human-friendly domain names, like www.example.com, into numerical IP addresses that computers use to identify each other on the network. This translation is essential because while users prefer to use easy-to-remember domain names, networking systems operate using IP addresses.

When a user enters a domain name in their browser, a DNS query is initiated to find the corresponding IP address. The DNS server consults its records to provide the appropriate IP address back to the user's device, allowing it to connect to the desired resource on the internet. This process is fundamental for web browsing and other internet activities, facilitating seamless connectivity and communication.

In contrast, the other technologies listed serve different purposes. DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is used for dynamically assigning IP addresses to devices on a network, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is the protocol used for sending emails, and SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is used for network management and monitoring. Each of these protocols is vital in its context but does not perform the role of translating domain names into IP addresses like DNS does.