When troubleshooting DNS issues, the nslookup command is an essential tool in the arsenal of any network engineer or systems administrator. Whether you’re trying to identify IP addresses or diagnose connectivity problems, nslookup provides valuable insight into how DNS servers are resolving domain names. This comprehensive guide dives into the technical details of the nslookup command, breaking down its usage and explaining how it can assist in DNS troubleshooting.
What is NSlookup?
nslookup stands for “Name Server Lookup.” It is a network administration command-line tool used to query Domain Name System (DNS) records. DNS is responsible for translating human-readable domain names like www.example.com into IP addresses, which machines use to identify each other on the network. By using nslookup, you can verify whether the DNS is resolving domain names properly, check the propagation of DNS changes, or troubleshoot issues such as incorrect mappings or DNS server errors.