Where are all of the DNS records kept?

This is slightly more complicated, but for the purpose of this overview, we'll try to keep it as general as possible. 

There are 2 basic places DNS records reside:

1. 1) International Root name servers (13 exist throughout the world)

2. 2) Your domain register, where your current DNS settings reside.

When you register/purchase your domain name on a particular "registers name server", your DNS settings are kept on their server, and in most cases point your domain to the Name Server of your hosting provider. 

This Name Server is where the IP number (currently associated with your domain name) resides.

The entire hierarchy is somewhat involved, but in short, the world Root Name Servers can be considered the master listing of all DNS records, and there are currently 13 of them in the world.

These name servers are where all the master DNS records are kept. 

The DNS server of your ISP will typically query the Root Name Servers once every 24-hours.

 This is how they update all of their DNS tables, which in turn, resolve www requests to the IP number of the server they reside on.

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