DNS Lookup – Check DNS Records – DNS Checker

DNS record lookup: Check all DNS records for any domain DNS record lookup

collects DNS information for any domain and presents all

DNS records for that domain. What types of DNS records

can be searched using Dig (DNS lookup)?

Different

types of DNS records are used for different purposes. You can perform the following DNS record lookup from our DNS tool.

A record search Record Search

• AAAA
• CNAME

Search MX Search NS Search

• PTR

record search

• SRV record search SOA

record search

• TXT

record search

• CAA

record

• search DS
• and DNSKEY

record search Our

• search

tool

DNS domains obtains all or specified DNS records for a domain and reports them in a priority list.

Use the DNS server lookup options to collect DNS information on the Google DNS server, Cloudflare DNS server, OpenDNS DNS server, or authoritative domain name servers. So, if you change your web hosting or DNS records, those changes should be reflected instantly.

Note: Dig (DNS lookup) retrieves all data from the DNS record using the dig command. You can get that DNS record data in raw form by clicking the “+” button plus on each record.

How do you translate a domain name to an IP address?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. The system converts a hostname (dnschecker.org) into a computer-friendly IP address.

When an end user enters a domain or URL into their browser’s search bar, DNS servers process the request and translate them into a respective IP address to help browsers load relevant results.

Consider searching for DNS domains as a map or phone book to find their respective searches for better understanding.

You all know that we need a proper address to reach a specific destination. Same with the Internet world. All smart devices, phones, laptops, tablets, TVs, etc., communicate over the internet through a series of numbers called IP addresses. DNS servers eliminate the need for humans to memorize complex numeric IP addresses. DNS resolution involves converting a human-friendly domain name into a computer-friendly IP address. DNS servers take full responsibility for delivering relevant results to the user.

As discussed, humans cannot learn strings of long numbers (IP addresses). Therefore, by simply typing in the website name (www.amazon.com), the DNS server provides the IP address associated with that domain.

The DNS server can be at your ISP or on your local network. Other devices, such as routers, access the translated domain (in IP address) to channel search results.

DNS lookup flow: Eight-step process The flow of the

DNS

lookup process

for domain example.com involves several steps

. Domain Information Request:

1. Starts with a customer typing the domain “example.com”

into their browser bar. Contact the recursive DNS server: The browser sends a DNS query to its configured DNS resolver (a

2. recursive resolver) (for example, the ISP’s router or DNS server). Return DNS record if present: The recursive resolver
3. checks your cache to see if you have a recent copy of the DNS record. If so, it returns the DNS record to the client.
4. Sending DNS queries to the root name server: If the recursive resolver does not have a recent record copy, it sends a query to one of the root name servers.

TLD name server contact: The root name server returns an address of the top-level domain (TLD) name

5. server (for example, the TLD name server .com in that case) responsible for the domain in question.

Authoritative name server reference

6. : The TLD name server refers to the authoritative name server for the specific domain.

Access DNS record: The recursive resolver

7. sends a request to the authoritative name server that responds with the requested DNS record to the recursive resolver, which it caches and then returns

to the client.

8. Final step: The client uses the DNS record information to connect to the IP address of the server hosting the website.

Each DNS request also returns a TTL (time to live) value that specifies the time (in seconds) for which the DNS record is cached. When you change DNS servers, it typically takes 24-48 hours for DNS records to propagate globally. You can go to my DNS check to check if your domain’s DNS records propagate globally.

After knowing how DNS lookup works, let’s discuss its two main types…

Forward

DNS lookup

Searching for a domain name to find its IP address is forwarding the DNS lookup. A typical type allows users to put the domain name to get the respective IP addresses.

Search

Reverse DNS Contrary to DNS lookup forwarding, DNS reverse lookup identifies the domain name using the IP address. E-mail servers use this search method to identify valid recipients.

What is a DNS record?

DNS records are the mapping files that contain instructions for providing the following information related to a domain.

• IP (IPv4/IPv6) is associated with

that domain.

• How to handle DNS requests for that domain.

Different types of DNS records

1. A record: The most basic type of record, also known as an address record, provides an IPv4 address to a domain name or subdomain. That record points the domain name to an IP address.
2. AAAA record: Maps the host name to a 128-bit IPv6 address. For a long time, 32-bit IPv4 addresses served to identify a computer on the Internet. But because of the shortage of IPv4, IPv6 was created. The four “A”s (AAAA) are mnemonics to represent that IPv6 is four times larger than IPv4.
3. CNAME record: Also known as a canonical name record, it creates an alias for a domain name. The aliased domain or subdomain gets all the DNS records of the original domain and is commonly used to associate subdomains with the existing parent domain. Use the CNAME search tool to dig deeper.
4. MX record: Also known as mail exchange records, it indicates which mail exchange servers are responsible for routing email to the correct mail destination or server. For a detailed analysis, use MX Record Lookup.
5. NS record: Also known as name server records, it points to name servers with authority to manage and publish DNS records for that domain. These DNS servers are authoritative in handling any queries related to that domain. Use the NS search tool to dig deeper.
6. PTR record: Also known as pointer registration, points the IPv4 or IPv6 address to your machine’s hostname. It provides a reverse DNS record, or rDNS record, by pointing an IP address to the server’s hostname. Use the reverse IP lookup tool to dig deeper.
7. SRV record: Also known as a service record, it indicates which specific services the domain operates and port numbers. Internet protocols such as Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) often require SRV records.
8. SOA record: Also known as initiation of authority records, it provides essential information about the domain, such as identifying the domain’s authoritative name server master node, an email from the domain administrator, DNS zone serial number, and so on.
9. TXT record: Allows the website administrator to insert any arbitrary text into the DNS record.
10. CAA record: Also known as a CA authorization record, it reflects public policy regarding the issuance of digital certificates for the domain. If no CAA record exists for your domain, any CA can issue an SSL certificate. However, with this record, you can restrict which CA is authorized to issue digital credentials for your domain.
11. DS record: Also known as a delegation signer record, it consists of the unique characters of your public key and its related metadata, such as the key tag, algorithm, digest type, and cryptographic hash value called Digest. Use the DS Lookup tool to dig deeper.
12. DNSKEY record: Also known as DNS key record, which contains public signing keys such as zone signing key (ZSK) and key signing key (KSK). DS and DNSKEY records validate the authenticity of DNS records returned by the DNS server. Use DNSKEY search to drill down.

More free DNS tools such as SPF Checker, DKIM Checker, DMARC Checker, and DMARC Generator are also available.