what is a dns lookup?

A DNS (Domain Name System) lookup is a process used to identify the Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with a domain name. It is a critical part of the process of connecting to websites, sending and receiving emails, and accessing other online services.

Essentially, dns lookup is a translation process that helps direct network traffic from one computer to another. It's like looking up a telephone number in a phone book or an address in a map. When typing a domain name into a web browser, the system will perform a DNS lookup that queries a DNS server to find the numerical IP address associated with that domain name.

Performing a DNS lookup is straightforward. You simply type the domain name into a command line tool such as Nslookup or Dig, and the DNS lookup will then query the DNS records for that domain name. The DNS server will have the IP address associated with the domain name in its records. The DNS lookup is then able to direct the query to the IP address.

Another example of a DNS lookup is used when sending emails. When a sender wants to send an email to a recipient, the sender's computer will look at the Mail Exchange (MX) records to get the IP address associated with the recipient's domain name. It then looks up that IP address in the DNS address to find the proper server. The email is then sent to the server associated with that IP address.