An alternative to supplying a numeric address is to use the host name, rather than the address, in TCP⁄IP commands. (Each host may be assigned at least one name.) Your local host can resolve the name you supply in a command into the correct numeric address. The names are translated using either a translation file or an application known as a name server. Your ability to use network names depends on how your TCP⁄IP network has been designed and which features have been installed.