nslookup and dig for DNS in Linux CLI - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using nslookup and dig for DNS Queries

📖 Scenario: You are working as a network technician. You need to check the IP address of a website and verify DNS records using command-line tools.

🎯 Goal: Learn how to use nslookup and dig commands to find DNS information about a domain.

📋 What You'll Learn

Use nslookup to find the IP address of example.com

Use dig to query the A record of example.com

Use dig to query the MX record of example.com

Display the results clearly in the terminal

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Network administrators and IT support use nslookup and dig to check DNS records and troubleshoot domain name issues.

💼 Career

Knowing how to use these commands is essential for roles in network management, cybersecurity, and system administration.

1

Use nslookup to find the IP address

Type the command nslookup example.com to find the IP address of example.com.

Linux CLI

# Type the command nslookup example.com and press Enter

Need a hint?

Type nslookup example.com exactly to get the IP address.

2

Use dig to query the A record

Type the command dig example.com A to query the A record (IPv4 address) of example.com.

Linux CLI

nslookup example.com
# Type the command dig example.com A and press Enter

Need a hint?

Use dig example.com A to get the IPv4 address record.

3

Use dig to query the MX record

Type the command dig example.com MX to find the mail exchange servers for example.com.

Linux CLI

nslookup example.com
dig example.com A
# Type the command dig example.com MX and press Enter

Need a hint?

Use dig example.com MX to find mail servers.

4

Display the results clearly

Type the commands again to display all results in the terminal: nslookup example.com dig example.com A dig example.com MX

Linux CLI

nslookup example.com
dig example.com A
dig example.com MX
# Run all commands again to show output

Need a hint?

Run all three commands one after another to see the DNS information clearly.