Which utility is commonly used to perform DNS lookups and can query specific record types?

Which utility is commonly used to perform DNS lookups and can query specific record types?

• A. Dig
• B. Nslookup
• C. Host command
• D. Ping

Answer: (C)

DNS lookup utilities allow you to request specific types of DNS records, not just resolve a hostname to an IP. The host command is a simple, straightforward tool designed for quick DNS queries and it can target exactly the record type you need using the -t option. For example, you can run host -t A example.com to retrieve IPv4 addresses, or host -t MX example.com to find mail exchange servers. This focused ability to pull specific records makes it a practical choice for quickly inspecting what a domain publishes in DNS. Other tools like dig are more feature-rich and commonly used for deeper debugging, nslookup is older and less consistent across platforms, and Ping doesn’t query DNS records at all.

DNS lookup utilities allow you to request specific types of DNS records, not just resolve a hostname to an IP. The host command is a simple, straightforward tool designed for quick DNS queries and it can target exactly the record type you need using the -t option. For example, you can run host -t A example.com to retrieve IPv4 addresses, or host -t MX example.com to find mail exchange servers. This focused ability to pull specific records makes it a practical choice for quickly inspecting what a domain publishes in DNS. Other tools like dig are more feature-rich and commonly used for deeper debugging, nslookup is older and less consistent across platforms, and Ping doesn’t query DNS records at all.