What are two roles of Domain Name Services (DNS)?

DNS lets applications use names instead of forcing users and software to work directly with IP addresses. A client can ask for the address associated with a hostname, and DNS returns the resource records needed to reach that service. DNS can also map one name to multiple IP addresses, which supports simple distribution, redundancy, or service design depending on the record type and client behavior. It does not encrypt WAN traffic by default, and it does not secure IP addresses merely by hiding them behind fully qualified domain names. DNS is hierarchical, not flat, which is why the root, top-level domains, authoritative zones, and host records can scale globally. Cisco CCNA 200-301 v1.1 covers DNS under IP Services because name resolution is required for many network operations, including management access, web services, and application connectivity. The two valid roles here are enabling applications to identify resources by name and allowing a hostname to be associated with more than one IP address.