Final answer:
The DNS database is stored in a distributed and hierarchical manner across a global network of DNS servers that include root, TLD, authoritative, and local servers, each containing a subset of the DNS database.
Step-by-step explanation:
The domain name system (DNS) is an essential component of the internet's infrastructure, responsible for translating domain names into IP addresses. The DNS database is distributed and hierarchical, which means it is not stored in a single location. Instead, it is spread across a global network of DNS servers. These servers are organized into different levels: the root servers, top-level domain (TLD) servers, authoritative name servers, and local DNS servers. Each server contains a subset of the DNS database relevant to its position in the hierarchy. For example, root servers store information about TLD servers, TLD servers have data on the domain names with that extension, and so on down to local DNS servers, which cache addresses for users' convenience.