Is it necessary to run own DNS server?

Question

I would like to buy a second-level domain name (e.g. example.com) and I will run web server on my own machine (named www, having public IP address).

Is this sufficient for my machine to be accessible by visitors via browser with http://www.example.com?

I expect that every visitor machine accessing http://www.example.com will first ask it's DNS server if it knows the IP address of www.example.com. If it doesn't know. The DNS server will ask the root server on the address of .com top-level domain. Then it will ask .com top-level domain if it knows the IP address of www.example.com and it should be there because I bought it. So finally it will send the IP address to the visitor's DNS server and then visitor's DNS server will send the IP address to visitor's machine?

I would like to avoid installing and configuring own DNS server (I have only one laptop). Is my expectation correct that I don't need to install own DNS server?

If yes/no, please describe a little the reasoning behind the scene.

Answer 1

Your domain name registrar should be hosting your DNS records. This is not something you have to do or worry too much about. In fact, you are far better off not running a DNS server because of the security implications. When you register your domain name many registrars will host your DNS records free of charge. Some do charge a small fee. If your registrar for some extremely odd reason cannot host your DNS records, there are DNS hosts. So there are plenty of options. I suggest making this a question you ask the registrar prior to registering your domain name.