DNS Lookup Tools

Glossary of Terms

• DNS - Domain Name System, is a naming system that utilizes various information with domain names assigned to each computer, service, or resource.
• Name Server - This displays the specific hostname used to search for a domain. Think of it like an apartment complex. The individual apartments would be a domain and the apartment complex would be the host name "hosting" the domain.
• WHOIS - A WHOIS record contains information such as the name and contact information of the registrant (who owns the domain), registrar (the organization that registered the domain name), registration dates, and expiration dates of the domain.
• TXT - This record, short for text record, is used as a resource record in the DNS that provides the ability to associate text with a host. For example, SPF records (email authentication method) are TXT records that contain SPF information.
• WWW A - This record is what ties host names to IP addresses. These records are responsible for listing what IP address your domain is hosted on. If the A record is incorrect, you will not be able to access your domain, FTP, or email accounts.
• PTR - A pointer (PTR) record is a DNS record that is used for reverse DNS lookup. Using the IP address, you get the corresponding domain or host name.
• MX - MX records are used to determine where to deliver mail for your domain. You can have multiple MX records that will be tried in order of priority, with 0 being the highest priority.

These DNS Tools were created in-house by HostDime and allow you to look up any and all DNS information about a particular domain. We store cached previous lookups in our cache so that you can see how they have changed over time.