Online DNS lookup tool
About our DNS Lookup Tool
An online DNS lookup tool provides access to all DNS records associated with a domain. You can find details about records associated with a particular web address using DNS Lookup.
Performing a lookup on any domain will let you see all the most commonly used record types.
What is a DNS?
It is a naming database consisting of internet domains translated into IP addresses using the domain name system. In order to locate one device on the internet, other devices use its IP.
With DNS servers, ordinary words can be inserted into browsers without keeping track of IP addresses for every website, such as google.com.
What is a DNS lookup?
DNS (Domain Name System) lookups convert easy-to-remember names called domain names (like www.freenerdtools.com) into numbers called IP addresses (like 162.0.232.215).
IP addresses are those numbers used for internet communication between computers. Even so, humans would have trouble remembering these numbers, which can change periodically if network configurations change.
How do you do a DNS lookup online?
You will most likely never need to worry about DNS lookups when you want to resolve a domain, as your operating system is already designed to handle it automatically.
To use the built-in windows feature, follow these steps.
- Open the Windows Command Prompt by navigating Start> Command Prompt or clicking Run > CMD.
- Type NSLOOKUP from the keyboard and press Enter. Local DNS is set to the default server, and your local IP is the default address.
- By typing set type=##, you can specify which type of DNS records you wish to search for. A, AAAA, A+AAAA, ANY, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR, SOA, or SRV are acceptable record types.
- You can now query a domain by entering it and pressing Enter.
- When you enter a domain, NSLOOKUP will return a list of records.
Non-technical people may have difficulty using these command line tools, which is why our online tool is available to simplify this process for them. You can check DNS records for a domain by entering the domain name in the tool, and the results are displayed right in your web browser.
What is a DNS record?
A DNS record is a set of information that includes a domain name and its matching IP. An authoritative DNS server keeps records of information about domains, including their IP addresses, and these records are stored in DNS records.
Users connect their websites to the outside world using DNS records stored in DNS servers. A URL is forwarded to DNS servers by the browser and directed to the specific Web server once entered.
What DNS record types can be looked up?
For various purposes, DNS records come in many forms. To configure different types of services, different DNS records are used.
Any of the following types of records can be looked up using the DNS lookup tool:
A record
There are several DNS records, but the most important is the A record. The "A" refers to the "address" in an A record. An IP address is revealed in an A record for a particular hostname or domain.
A record is primarily used to look up IP addresses. Browsers can access websites using domain names with the help of an A record. Due to this, it is possible for us to access websites on the internet without having information about their IP addresses.
AAAA record
In the same way as an A record, an AAAA record points to an IP address. However, AAAA DNS record types differ because they point to IPV6 addresses. As compared to IPV4, IPV6 offers a greater number of IP addresses.
DNS resolution can be improved by using the AAAA record. Due to the continued growth of the internet and the limited number of IPV4 addresses, AAAA records will be in high demand in the future.
CNAME record
It links an alias name with an actual or canonical domain using CNAME records (Canonical Name). Subdomains such as www and mail are usually mapped to the domain which hosts their content using CNAME records. For example, CNAME records can translate www.tools.com to the actual website associated with this domain.
NS record
NS record (nameserver record) specifies the authoritative name server for a domain or domain zone. DNS looks up an NS record to determine the IP address of a client's intended destination when it queries for an IP address.
TXT record
TXT records enable the association of text to a zone through resource records. Domain administrators can add a DNS record containing text content. These TXT Records are used for a variety of purposes such as they store contact details, prevent spam emails, and verifies domain ownership.
MX record
An MX (mail exchange) record specifies a mail server in a DNS zone file that handles email for a domain. Emails sent to your domain must be routed through this record. It is mandatory for an MX record to point to another domain, just like CNAME records.
SOA record
In the SOA (Start of Authority) record, the global parameters are specified, and the authoritative DNS zone is outlined. Domain serial number, primary name server, email address of the domain administrator, and several timers related to zone refresh are among these parameters.