Understanding nslookup and dig: The Essential DNS Tools

Understanding nslookup and dig: The Essential DNS Tools — a concise, practical guide focused on real-world admin scenarios. We skip jargon and show commands you can run today.

Quick intro

This section frames the core idea and when to use it. You’ll see how it affects latency, reliability, and security choices.

Hands‑on example

dig pingtoolnet.com A +trace
nslookup -query=TXT pingtoolnet.com 1.1.1.1

Checklist

1. Document changes with timestamps so you can line them up with resolver logs.
2. Prefer `dig` for advanced flags; keep `nslookup` for quick checks.
3. When debugging, change one variable at a time.
4. Test from multiple resolvers (ISP, 1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8) to spot caching issues.
5. Always record TTLs — they explain most ‘inconsistent’ DNS behavior.