Enter a URL
The domain name system is known as DNS. The system is in charge of turning a hostname into an IP address that computers can understand.
DNS servers receive requests and convert them into corresponding IP addresses when an end user types a domain or URL into the search bar of their browser, making it easier for browsers to load relevant results.
For a better understanding, visualise DNS Lookup as a map or phone book to locate your respective searches.
A human-friendly domain name is transformed into an IP address through the DNS resolution process. Delivering pertinent results to the user is entirely the duty of DNS servers. Long number strings cannot be learned by humans, as was previously noted (IP Address). Therefore, the DNS server delivers the IP Address associated with that domain by just typing the website's name (www.kuvilam.in).
The DNS server may be located on your local network or your ISP. Other devices, including routers, connect to the translated domain (into IP address) to channel your search results.
Let's talk about DNS Lookup's two main categories now that we understand how it operates.
Forward DNS Lookup
Forwarding DNS Lookup is the process of looking up a domain name to discover its IP address. Users can enter a domain name to obtain the corresponding IP addresses using a common kind.
Reverse DNS Lookup
DNS reverse lookup, as opposed to forwards DNS Lookup, uses the IP Address to determine the domain name. This lookup technique is used by email servers to locate legitimate recipients.
The mapping files that provide the instructions to deliver the following details about a domain are known as DNS records.
All of a domain's DNS records are retrieved by the DNS lookup tool, which then presents them in a priority list.
Utilize options to run a DNS lookup against the domain's authoritative name server, Google, Cloudflare, OpenDNS, or (s). Therefore, any modifications you make to your web hosting or DNS records should take effect right away.
Use the DNS lookup tool to validate your DNS records and prevent downtime by making sure you have configured the right DNS records for your domain.
A, AAAA, CNAME, MX, NS, PTR, SRV, SOA, TXT, CAA, DS, DNSKEY, and other DNS entries are among them.
Choose "ALL" to obtain all common DNS records for a domain or choose any record for a lookup.
A Record: An IPv4 address is assigned to a domain name or subdomain name by a record, the most fundamental type of record also known as an address record. That record points the domain name to an IP address.
AAAA Record: Maps the hostname to a 128-bit IPv6 address using the AAAA record. 32-bit IPv4 addresses were used for a very long period to identify computers on the internet. However, IPv6 was developed as a result of the IPv4 shortage. The four "A"s (AAAA) serve as a reminder that IPv6 is four times bigger than IPv4 in terms of size.
CNAME record: A domain name is given an alias through a CNAME record, sometimes referred to as a Canonical Name record. The aliased domain or sub-domain, which is frequently used to link subdomains to active main domains, receives all of the original domain's DNS data.
MX Record: MX records, sometimes referred to as mail exchange records, provide information about which mail exchange servers are in charge of directing emails to the appropriate recipients or mail servers. Use MX Record Lookup for in-depth investigation.
NS record: sometimes referred to as a name server record, identifies the name servers with the power to control and publish the DNS records for that domain. These are the DNS servers with the authority to respond to any domain-related queries. To learn more, use the NS Lookup Tool.
PTR records: also referred to as pointer records, direct an IPv4 or IPv6 address to the hostname of a computer. By directing an IP address to the server's hostname, it creates a reverse DNS record, or rDNS record.
SRV records: sometimes referred to as service records, list the ports used for each of the individual services that the domain provides. SRV records are frequently needed by some Internet protocols, including the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and the Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).
Start of Authority records, or SOA records, give crucial details about the domain, such as the DNS zone's serial number, the email address of the domain administrator, and the identification of the authoritative nameserver's master node.
TXT record: enables the administrator of the website to add any random text to the DNS record.
CAA record: The public policy governing the issuing of digital certificates for the domain is reflected in the CAA record, also known as the Certification Authority Authorization record. Any Certification Authority may issue an SSL certificate for your domain if there is no CAA record for it. However, you can limit which CA is permitted to issue digital credentials for your domain by using this record.
DS record: The unique characters of your public key and any associated metadata, such as Key Tag, Algorithm, Digest Type, and the cryptographic hash value known as Digest, make up the DS record, also known as Delegation Signer record.
DNSKEY record: Known also as the DNS Key record, the DNSKEY entry contains public signing keys such as the Zone Signing Key (ZSK) and the Key Signing Key (KSK). The DS and DNSKEY records are used to verify the validity of DNS records that the DNS Server has returned.
In order to ease the process of converting a domain name into an IP address or other DNS configuration information to more readily reach a server, the Domain Name System (DNS) is a collection of servers spread out throughout the globe that stores the configuration information of a domain name.
When running a DNS lookup, 4 different categories of DNS servers are involved. Each sort of DNS server serves a distinct purpose and may not always be necessary depending on the situation.
Recursive Resolver - Your computer or other device talks with the DNS server known as the recursive resolver. This DNS server is often assigned to you by your service provider automatically and is situated close-by to deliver results as quickly as possible. To expedite future DNS lookup requests, this server will cache DNS record data.
Root Nameserver - The IP address of the TLD nameserver is provided by the root nameserver, which is in charge of doing so. For instance, the root name server will return the IP address of the TLD name server in charge of handling.com domain names when resolving example.com.
TLD Nameserver - The TLD name server is in charge of returning the authoritative name servers for each domain that falls under the TLD it is in charge of. Example.org will not receive results from the.com TLD name server, but example.com will.
Authoritative Nameserver - This DNS server is responsible for actually storing a domain name's DNS configuration information.
This is the sequence of actions that will take place when you enter a URL to access a website like example.com in your web browser as an illustration of the flow of events when carrying out a DNS lookup.
When a DNS query is made, the answer contains information known as the Time to Live (TTL), which indicates how long DNS entries should be cached.
As recursive resolvers are frequently utilised by numerous users on a network with close geographic proximity, caching typically takes place there. The user who made the initial request will benefit from faster response times for all subsequent requests, as would every other user of the same DNS resolver.
For international users, many authoritative nameservers are frequently situated on the other side of the globe. If your web browser can skip steps in the whole DNS search process and only use a local cache to retrieve the IP address of a domain name, the request can be processed much more quickly.
The opposite of a standard DNS lookup is a reverse DNS lookup. It transforms an IP address into a domain name as opposed to the other way around. A PTR record pointing to the domain name must be present on the DNS server. To analyse reverse DNS records, utilise the unique reverse DNS lookup tool.