What system is associated with managing domain name mappings that can become stale if not properly maintained?

The system associated with managing domain name mappings that can become stale if not properly maintained is the Domain Name System (DNS). DNS is crucial for translating human-readable domain names (like www.example.com) into IP addresses that computers use to identify each other on the network.

Staleness in DNS can occur due to the time-to-live (TTL) settings of DNS records. TTL defines how long a DNS record is cached by DNS resolvers and clients. If DNS records are not updated or if changes in IP addresses happen without timely updates to the DNS records, users may be directed to incorrect or outdated addresses, resulting in access issues. Therefore, proper maintenance of DNS records is essential to ensure that domain name mappings are accurate and up to date.

In contrast, SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) is utilized for network management, including monitoring devices and network performance. DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) is responsible for dynamically assigning IP addresses to devices on a network. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used for transferring files between a client and a server. While these protocols play important roles in network functionality, they do not manage domain name mappings or experience issues related to stale domain name information like DNS does.