DNS lookup
Published: 19 Mar, 2023

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When you type a domain name into your web browser, such as "google.com," your computer needs to know the IP address of the server that hosts the website in order to connect to it. This is where DNS lookup comes in.

DNS, or Domain Name System, is a system that translates domain names into IP addresses. Each domain name is associated with an IP address that identifies the server where the website is hosted. When you type a domain name into your browser, your computer sends a request to a DNS server to look up the IP address associated with the domain name.

The DNS server then looks up the IP address in its database and sends the result back to your computer. Your computer then uses the IP address to connect to the server and retrieve the website.

DNS lookup is an important part of the internet infrastructure, as it allows domain names to be translated into IP addresses, which are necessary for communication between servers and clients. DNS is also used for other purposes, such as email routing and other network services.

There are two types of DNS servers: authoritative DNS servers and recursive DNS servers.

Authoritative DNS servers are responsible for storing and providing the DNS records for a particular domain name. When you register a domain name, you must provide the names of your authoritative DNS servers to your domain registrar. These servers are then responsible for providing the IP addresses associated with your domain name to other DNS servers when they receive a request for it.

Recursive DNS servers are responsible for resolving DNS queries by sending requests to authoritative DNS servers. When your computer sends a request to a recursive DNS server to look up a domain name, the recursive server first checks its cache to see if it already has the IP address for the domain name. If it doesn't, it sends a request to the authoritative DNS server for the domain name and stores the result in its cache for future requests.

DNS lookup can be performed using a variety of tools and services. One of the most common tools is the "nslookup" command-line tool, which is available on most operating systems. To perform a DNS lookup using nslookup, you simply type "nslookup" followed by the domain name you want to look up.

For example, to look up the IP address of "google.com," you would type "nslookup google.com" in the command prompt. The result would show you the IP address associated with the domain name, as well as the name of the authoritative DNS server that provided the result.

Another common tool for performing DNS lookup is the online DNS lookup tool. There are many websites that offer this service, including dnschecker.org, mxtoolbox.com, and network-tools.com. To use these tools, you simply enter the domain name you want to look up and the tool will show you the IP address associated with the domain name, as well as other DNS records such as MX records, TXT records, and more.

In summary, DNS lookup is the process of translating domain names into IP addresses using the Domain Name System. This is an important part of the internet infrastructure, as it allows computers to connect to websites using domain names rather than IP addresses. DNS lookup can be performed using a variety of tools and services, including the nslookup command-line tool and online DNS lookup tools.