{"id":16221,"date":"2018-04-04T15:54:29","date_gmt":"2018-04-04T20:54:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/blog\/?p=16221"},"modified":"2021-11-17T02:16:52","modified_gmt":"2021-11-17T08:16:52","slug":"how-to-perform-a-dns-lookup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/how-to-perform-a-dns-lookup\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Perform a DNS Lookup &#8211; Guided Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that if we didn\u2019t have DNS, then you\u2019d have to access your favorite websites by manually entering their IP Address? Thankfully, this isn\u2019t the case. With this system, which stands for Domain Name System, your IP Address works in the background, which allows for greater ease when navigating throughout the internet. DNS translates the technological requirements human to machine connection.<\/p>\n<p>While DNS systems are easy and generally run in the background, there are times when a website owner may need to lookup vital information. This typically happens when data flow is interrupted or experiencing an ongoing error. Although it\u2019s possible to lookup your DNS information via a third party, such as the renowned website WhoIs.Net, some prefer to avoid accessing this information through a third party when it comes to debugging or troubleshooting errors.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re interested in learning how to perform a DNS lookup, there are several easy methods available.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>DNS Trace Test<\/h2>\n<p>Dotcom-Monitor has a free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/DNS-lookup-tools.aspx\">DNS Trace Test<\/a> that you can use online, simply by entering the host (your domain name) and which locations you would like to test from. This tool queries the root servers to find DNS lookup records detailing the path taken to retrieve the record. In the results you will find:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Time it takes to receive a response from each node along the path<\/li>\n<li>Answers returned from each node, for example:\n<ul>\n<li>The result header contains general information about the test performed while the data in the tree shown below contains details about the actual DNS trace.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-16230 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/dns-trace-result.png\" alt=\"dns trace result\" width=\"463\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/dns-trace-result.png 463w, https:\/\/www.dotcom-tools.com\/web-performance\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/dns-trace-result-232x350.png 232w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 463px) 100vw, 463px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Name Server Lookup<\/h3>\n<p>Want to perform a name server lookup? If so, then there are a few steps you can take to perform this action:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Go to your Command Prompt and use the line: nslookup<br \/>\n\u2022 After this command, enter the IP Address for Domain Name you wish to lookup.<br \/>\n\u2022 Press Enter<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Reverse Lookup<\/h3>\n<p>Are you trying to find a way to perform a reverse lookup? This method is typically used when the domain uses an IP Address, rather than a standard wwww.mydomain.com format. To perform a reverse DNS lookup, follow these easy steps:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Access Command Prompt and type: Command<br \/>\n\u2022 Press Enter<br \/>\n\u2022 The resulting black box is where you\u2019ll type: ping-a IP ADDRESS (replace \u201cIP ADDRESS\u201d with the numerical address you wish to investigate)<br \/>\n\u2022 Press Enter<br \/>\n\u2022 The resulting information is all available data that\u2019s connected with the IP Address you entered.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Host DNS Lookup<\/h4>\n<p>This is one of the easiest tools you can use when attempting to locate more information about a specific IP Address. It\u2019s capable of performing full translation of domains and IP Addresses, as well as detail current name servers for the website and email servers.<\/p>\n<p>To perform this type of lookup, perform the following steps:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Access your Command Line (as in previous steps)<br \/>\n\u2022 Type the following in black text field: host-t a domain.com (input the domain name you wish to investigate where DOMAIN.COM is written)<br \/>\n\u2022 The following information will reveal the IP Address for the domain you entered<br \/>\n\u2022 To lookup the mail server, type the following in the Command Line: $host -t mx domain.com (make sure to replace DOMAIN.COM as in the previous step)<br \/>\n\u2022 Press Enter<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>Dig DNS<\/h4>\n<p>Are you looking for a more powerful way to investigate and troubleshoot network and DNS problems? If so, then the Dig DNS Lookup method may be exactly what you\u2019ve searched for.<\/p>\n<p>To uncover all information kept on file with a specific domain name, enter the following Dig command:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 In the Command Line, type: $ dig +noall +answer DOMAIN.COM (replace the domain with the website you wish to investigate).<br \/>\n\u2022 Press Enter<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re interested in learning how to perform a DNS lookup, there are several easy methods available. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":16232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"template-url.php","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[78,62],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.6 (Yoast SEO v19.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>How To Perform a DNS Lookup: Steps to Troubleshoot DNS<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Did you know that if we didn\u2019t have DNS, then you\u2019d have to access your favorite websites by manually entering their IP Address? 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