Check DNS records on Windows with nslookup

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There are many reasons why you might need to check the status of your Domain Name System (DNS) records. For example, you might need to verify that updates are correct or troubleshoot issues with accessing a service.

If you're a Cloud DNS user, you can view your DNS records through the Cloud Control Panel . In addition, Microsoft® Windows® offers nslookup, a built-in tool for checking your DNS records from the command line.

To access nslookup, open a command prompt window by selecting Start > All Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

Check a DNS Record

To check a specific DNS record, you need to specify the nslookup command, an optional record type (for example, A, MX, or TXT), and the host name that you want to check.

Note: If you omit the record type, it defaults to A.

The following example shows how to check A records for rackspace.co.uk:

C:\Users\Administrator>nslookup rackspace.co.uk
Server:  cachens1.lon.rackspace.com>
Address:  83.138.151.80

Non-authoritative answer:

Name:    rackspace.co.uk
Address:  212.64.133.165

The first two lines of output specify the server to which the request was directed. This server is the default server that your system uses for DNS name resolution.

The second section gives the name of the record and the corresponding Internet Protocol (IP) address. However, the answer in this section is non-authoritative because it originates from a server (cachens1.lon.rackspace.com) that isn't the root source for those records.

Get an Authoritative Answer

To get an authoritative answer you need to specify the authoritative (primary) name server at the end of the request.

Use the -type=soa option to tell nslookup to display the authoritative name server, as shown in the following example:

C:\Users\Administrator>nslookup -type=soa rackspace.co.uk
Server:  cachens1.lon.rackspace.com>
Address:  83.138.151.80

Non-authoritative answer:
rackspace.co.uk
        primary name server = ns.rackspace.com
        responsible mail addr = hostmaster.rackspace.com
        serial  = 1415913000
        refresh = 3600 (1 hour)
        retry   = 300 (5 mins)
        expire  = 1814400 (21 days)
        default TTL = 300 (5 mins)

ns.rackspace.com        internet address = 69.20.95.4

The address labeled primary name server is the DNS authority for the domain.

If you add the address of the authoritative name server (ns.rackspace.com) to the first command, the record is now checked against that name server.

C:\Users\Administrator>nslookup rackspace.co.uk ns.rackspace.com
Server:  ns.rackspace.com
Address:  69.20.95.4

Name:    rackspace.co.uk
Address:  212.64.133.165

Check When a Cached Record Expires

DNS uses caching, which reduces the load on authoritative name servers. However, as a result, records might be outdated. If the authoritative and non-authoritative answers differ, you have a cached response from the resolver name server that you're using. The length of time that a record is cached depends on its time-to-live (TTL) value. The TTL is a number that is specified in seconds.

To see how long a record is cached, include the debug option, as shown in the following example:

C:\Users\Administrator>nslookup -debug rackspace.co.uk

------------

Got answer:
HEADER:
        opcode = QUERY, id = 1, rcode = NOERROR
        header flags:  response, want recursion, recursion avail.
        questions = 1,  answers = 1,  authority records = 2,  additional = 2

    QUESTIONS:
        80.151.138.83.in-addr.arpa, type = PTR, class = IN
    ANSWERS:
    ->  80.151.138.83.in-addr.arpa
        name = cachens1.lon.rackspace.com
        ttl = 2466 (41 mins 6 secs)
    AUTHORITY RECORDS:
    ->  151.138.83.in-addr.arpa
        nameserver = ns2.rackspace.com
        ttl = 2466 (41 mins 6 secs)
    ->  151.138.83.in-addr.arpa
        nameserver = ns.rackspace.com
        ttl = 2466 (41 mins 6 secs)
    ADDITIONAL RECORDS:
    ->  ns.rackspace.com
        internet address = 69.20.95.4
        ttl = 12982 (3 hours 36 mins 22 secs)
    ->  ns2.rackspace.com
        internet address = 65.61.188.4
        ttl = 12985 (3 hours 36 mins 25 secs)

------------

Server:  cachens1.lon.rackspace.com
Address:  83.138.151.80

------------

Got answer:
    HEADER:
        opcode = QUERY, id = 2, rcode = NOERROR
        header flags:  response, want recursion, recursion avail.
        questions = 1,  answers = 1,  authority records = 2,  additional = 2

    QUESTIONS:
        rackspace.co.uk, type = A, class = IN
    ANSWERS:
    ->  rackspace.co.uk
        internet address = 212.64.133.165
        ttl = 279 (4 mins 39 secs)
    AUTHORITY RECORDS:
    ->  rackspace.co.uk
        nameserver = ns.rackspace.com
        ttl = 17465 (4 hours 51 mins 5 secs)
    ->  rackspace.co.uk
        nameserver = ns2.rackspace.com
        ttl = 17465 (4 hours 51 mins 5 secs)
    ADDITIONAL RECORDS:
    ->  ns.rackspace.com
        internet address = 69.20.95.4
        ttl = 15754 (4 hours 22 mins 34 secs)
    ->  ns2.rackspace.com
        internet address = 65.61.188.4
        ttl = 15727 (4 hours 22 mins 7 secs)

------------

Non-authoritative answer:

Name:    rackspace.co.uk
Address:  212.64.133.165

The response includes the following information:

The first Got answer section of this example is used to get the host name of the server from which you are requesting the A record. In this example, the host name is cachens1.lon.rackspace.com.
The second Got answer section relates to your actual request.
The HEADER section contains details about the type of request and its success.
The QUESTIONS section shows that the request was for A records for rackspace.co.uk.
The ANSWERS section displays one record with an IP address of 212.64.133.165 and a TTL of 279 seconds (4 minutes 39 seconds).
The AUTHORITY RECORDS section specifies the name servers that correspond to the domain.
The ADDITIONAL RECORDS section lists A records for the name servers that are listed in the authority records section.

This response shows that the name server that the client computer uses will reuse the same A record for rackspace.co.uk for the next 4 minutes and 39 seconds. If you run the same command on the authoritative name server, you see the current maximum TTL for the record.

Updated 2 days ago