What is the function of a hosts file?

• A. A text file that maps domain names to IP addresses manually on a local device.
• B. A remote database that stores DNS records for the internet.
• C. A table that translates IP addresses to MAC addresses on the network.
• D. A global list that enforces DNS query rate limits.

Answer: (A)

The hosts file is a local text mapping that lets a device manually assign domain names to IP addresses. It’s read by the operating system before it asks any DNS servers, so entries in this file take precedence and can override or bypass standard DNS lookups on that machine. This is exactly what the option describes: a text file on the local device mapping domain names to IP addresses manually.

The other ideas describe different mechanisms: a remote DNS database is used for Internet-wide name resolution, not a local file; a table translating IP addresses to MAC addresses is the ARP cache; and a global DNS rate-limit list is not a local hosts file.