Linux: Tools that is replacing nslookup

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nslookup has been a traditional command-line tool for querying Domain Name System (DNS) servers to look up DNS information, such as IP addresses associated with domain names. While nslookup is still available and functional, it has largely been replaced by dig and nslookup itself is considered deprecated on some systems. Let’s discuss the newer tool that’s often recommended for DNS queries:

dig (Domain Information Groper): dig is a powerful and flexible command-line tool for querying DNS servers. It provides more detailed and structured information than nslookup. Here are some key features of dig:

  1. Rich Output Format: dig provides detailed information in a well-structured format, making it easier to interpret and analyze the results of DNS queries.
  2. Query Specific Resource Records: With dig, you can specify the type of resource record you want to query, such as A (IPv4 address), AAAA (IPv6 address), MX (mail exchanger), CNAME (canonical name), and many more.
  3. Extended DNS Features: dig supports advanced DNS features like DNSSEC (Domain Name System Security Extensions) and EDNS0 (Extension Mechanisms for DNS). You can use dig to troubleshoot DNS issues related to these features.
  4. Custom DNS Server: You can specify the DNS server you want to query with dig. This can be useful for troubleshooting DNS problems or checking the configuration of a specific DNS server.

Here’s a basic example of how to use dig to look up the IP address associated with a domain name:

dig example.com

This command will provide detailed information about the DNS query, including the IP address of the domain “example.com.”

For more specific queries, you can use dig to request a particular DNS record type. For example, to find the IPv6 address (AAAA record) for a domain:

dig AAAA example.com

dig is a versatile tool for DNS-related tasks and is the recommended choice for querying DNS information on modern Linux systems. While nslookup is still available on many systems, it’s a good practice to use dig for its enhanced capabilities and more detailed output.

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