Is there a difference between a name server lookup and a domain name lookup?

Solution 1:

Is there a difference between a name server lookup and a domain name lookup?

A Name Server lookup retrieves the IP address associated with a Domain Name.

A Domain Name lookup (also called whois) retrieves the domain registration data (the domain owner details).

How do I perform a Name Server Lookup?

• Online using a variety of name server lookup services

• On Windows use nslookup

• On Unix use dig.

Example output (http://ping.eu/nslookup/):

Example Output (Windows nslookup):

F:\test>nslookup redhat.com
Server:  UnKnown
Address:  192.168.42.129

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:    redhat.com
Addresses:  64:ff9b::d184:b769
          209.132.183.105

Example Output (Linux dig):

$ dig redhat.com +nocomments +noquestion +noauthority +noadditional +nostats

; <<>> DiG 9.7.3-RedHat-9.7.3-2.el6 <<>> redhat.com +nocomments +noquestion +noauthority +noadditional +nostats
;; global options: +cmd
redhat.com.             9       IN      A       209.132.183.81

How do I perform a Domain Name Lookup?

• Online using a variety of domain name lookup services.

• On Unix use whois.

Example Output (https://whois.domaintools.com/google.com):

Domain Name: google.com
Registry Domain ID: 2138514_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.markmonitor.com
Registrar URL: http://www.markmonitor.com
Updated Date: 2015-06-12T10:38:52-0700
Creation Date: 1997-09-15T00:00:00-0700
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2020-09-13T21:00:00-0700
Registrar: MarkMonitor, Inc.
Registrar IANA ID: 292
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: 
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.2083895740
Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited (https://www.icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited)
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited (https://www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited)
Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited (https://www.icann.org/epp#clientDeleteProhibited)
Domain Status: serverUpdateProhibited (https://www.icann.org/epp#serverUpdateProhibited)
Domain Status: serverTransferProhibited (https://www.icann.org/epp#serverTransferProhibited)
Domain Status: serverDeleteProhibited (https://www.icann.org/epp#serverDeleteProhibited)
Registry Registrant ID: 
Registrant Name: Dns Admin
Registrant Organization: Google Inc.
Registrant Street: Please contact , 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Registrant City: Mountain View
Registrant State/Province: CA
Registrant Postal Code: 94043
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.6502530000
Registrant Phone Ext: 
Registrant Fax: +1.6506188571
Registrant Fax Ext: 
Registrant Email: 
Registry Admin ID: 
Admin Name: DNS Admin
Admin Organization: Google Inc.
Admin Street: 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
Admin City: Mountain View
Admin State/Province: CA
Admin Postal Code: 94043
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: +1.6506234000
Admin Phone Ext: 
Admin Fax: +1.6506188571
Admin Fax Ext: 
Admin Email: 
Registry Tech ID: 
Tech Name: DNS Admin
Tech Organization: Google Inc.
Tech Street: 2400 E. Bayshore Pkwy
Tech City: Mountain View
Tech State/Province: CA
Tech Postal Code: 94043
Tech Country: US
Tech Phone: +1.6503300100
Tech Phone Ext: 
Tech Fax: +1.6506181499
Tech Fax Ext: 
Tech Email: 
Name Server: ns1.google.com
Name Server: ns2.google.com
Name Server: ns4.google.com
Name Server: ns3.google.com
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/

Source https://whois.domaintools.com/google.com

Example Output (Linux whois):

$ whois google.com

Registrant:
        Dns Admin
        Google Inc.
        Please contact [email protected] 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
         Mountain View CA 94043
        US
        [email protected] +1.6502530000 Fax: +1.6506188571
    Domain Name: google.com
        Registrar Name: Markmonitor.com
        Registrar Whois: whois.markmonitor.com
        Registrar Homepage: http://www.markmonitor.com
    Administrative Contact:
        DNS Admin
        Google Inc.
        1600 Amphitheatre Parkway
         Mountain View CA 94043
        US
        [email protected] +1.6506234000 Fax: +1.6506188571
    Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
        DNS Admin
        Google Inc.
        2400 E. Bayshore Pkwy
         Mountain View CA 94043
        US
        [email protected] +1.6503300100 Fax: +1.6506181499
    Created on..............: 1997-09-15.
    Expires on..............: 2011-09-13.
    Record last updated on..: 2010-03-30.

Further Reading

• How do I find the authoritative name-server for a domain name?
• Domain Name System
• 10 Linux DIG Command Examples for DNS Lookup
• nslookup - Lookup IP addresses on a NameServer.

Solution 2:

domain name lookup can be responded by a cache (i.e. on localhost or by your provider). A name server lookup goes directly to the nameserver, thus bypasses caches between you and the name server.