What are the best network troubleshooting tools for identifying and resolving DNS and IP address issues?

1 Ping Utility

The Ping utility is a fundamental tool for network troubleshooting. It helps you verify the reachability of a host on an IP network and measure the round-trip time for messages sent from the originating host to a destination computer. When facing DNS issues, you can use Ping with both the IP address and the domain name of the target server. If the Ping succeeds using the IP address but fails with the domain name, this indicates a DNS resolution issue. Conversely, if both fail, the problem might be related to network connectivity or the target server itself.

2 NSLookup Tool

NSLookup is a command-line tool used for querying the DNS to obtain domain name or IP address mapping or any specific DNS record. It's particularly useful when you need to troubleshoot DNS infrastructure. By using NSLookup, you can find out the specific details of the DNS servers being used and can query those servers to diagnose issues with DNS records, which might be causing problems with domain name resolution.

3 IPConfig Command

The IPConfig command is widely used on Windows operating systems to display all current TCP/IP network configuration values and refresh Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and DNS settings. If you're experiencing issues with your IP address or DNS information, running the ipconfig /release followed by ipconfig /renew can often resolve the issue by resetting your IP address. Additionally, ipconfig /flushdns clears the DNS resolver cache which might be outdated or corrupted, potentially resolving DNS related issues.

4 Traceroute Command

Traceroute is another essential network diagnostic tool that allows you to track the path that an IP packet takes to reach its destination. It displays each hop along the route and measures transit delays of packets across an IP network. If you're encountering IP-related delays or failures, Traceroute helps pinpoint where along the path the problem occurs. For DNS issues, it can also show at which point in the network DNS queries are being mishandled or delayed.

5 WHOIS Service

WHOIS is a query and response protocol that is used for querying databases that store the registered users or assignees of an Internet resource, such as a domain name or an IP address block. It can be invaluable when you need to troubleshoot DNS issues related to domain ownership or to identify contact information associated with domains or IP addresses. This information can be crucial when resolving disputes or issues with domain names.

7 Here’s what else to consider

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