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nslookup
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<h2 id="overview">Overview</h2> <p>nslookup is a member of the <a href="/facts/BIND/Mj5qNIuW">BIND</a> name server software. Andrew Cherenson created nslookup as a class project at UC Berkeley in 1986 and it first shipped in 4.3-Tahoe BSD<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> In the development of BIND 9, the <a href="/facts/Internet_Systems_Consortium/BoJ6Me3d">Internet Systems Consortium</a> planned to deprecate nslookup in favor of <a href="/facts/Host_(Unix)/zyIo8CLE">host</a> and <a href="/facts/Dig_(command)/vaUsnm8l">dig</a>. This decision was reversed in 2004 with the release of BIND 9.3<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> and nslookup has been fully supported since then. </p><p>Unlike <a href="/facts/Dig_(command)/vaUsnm8l">dig</a>, nslookup does not use the operating system's local Domain Name System resolver library to perform its queries, and thus may behave differently. Additionally, vendor-provided versions may include the output of other sources of name information, such as <a href="/facts/Hosts_(file)/5ResPlJz">host files</a>, and <a href="/facts/Network_Information_Service/MawdYWjj">Network Information Service</a>. Some behaviors of nslookup may be modified by the contents of <a href="/facts/Resolv.conf/2ePf9Dbw">resolv.conf</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> version of nslookup is the original BSD version written by Andrew Cherenson.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>The <a href="/facts/ReactOS/BFmfC6BB">ReactOS</a> version was developed by Lucas Suggs and is licensed under the <a href="/facts/GNU_General_Public_License/S75KhLSX">GPL</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="usage">Usage</h2> <p>nslookup operates in interactive or non-interactive mode. When used interactively by invoking it without arguments or when the first argument is - (minus sign) and the second argument is a <a href="/facts/Hostname/WcLyMFKA">hostname</a> or Internet address of a name server, the user issues parameter configurations or requests when presented with the nslookup prompt (>). When no arguments are given, then the command queries the default server. The - (minus sign) invokes subcommands which are specified on the command line and should precede nslookup commands. In non-interactive mode, i.e. when the first argument is a name or Internet address of the host being searched, parameters and the query are specified as command line arguments in the invocation of the program. The non interactive mode searches the information for a specified host using the default name server.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Dig_(command)/vaUsnm8l">dig</a>, a utility that interrogates DNS servers directly for troubleshooting and system administration purposes.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Host_(Unix)/zyIo8CLE">host</a> is a simple utility for performing Domain Name System lookups.</li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_DNS_record_types/CgzuvJXy">List of DNS record types</a> - possible types of records stored and queried within DNS</li> <li><a href="/facts/Root_name_server/AoQPBB26">Root name server</a> - top-level name servers providing top level domain name resolution</li> <li><a href="/facts/Whois/B8wFy1BS">whois</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/BIND/Mj5qNIuW">BIND</a> name server</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Barrett, Daniel J. (2012). <i>Macintosh Terminal Pocket Guide: Take Command of Your Mac</i>. <a href="/facts/O%2527Reilly_Media/Fr3Kv7sm">O'Reilly</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1449328986.</li> <li>Stanek, William R. (2008). <i>Windows Command-Line Administrator's Pocket Consultant, 2nd Edition</i>. <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Press/5bNASSu4">Microsoft Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0735622623.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikiversity has learning resources about <i>Nslookup</i> Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: <i>Guide to Windows Commands</i> <p>Microsoft Windows </p> <ul><li><a href="https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb490721.aspx">nslookup</a> – <a href="/facts/Microsoft_TechNet/XdFdowL4">Microsoft TechNet</a> library</li> <li><a href="https://support.microsoft.com/kb/200525/">Using NSlookup.exe</a>, <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Knowledge_Base/8NXyyC3f">Microsoft Knowledge Base</a></li></ul> <p>Unix-like OSs </p> <ul><li><a href="https://linux.die.net/man/1/nslookup">nslookup(1)</a> – <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a> User Commands <a href="/facts/Man_page/S2yYjy0J">Manual</a></li> <li><a href="https://gitlab.isc.org/isc-projects/bind9/-/tree/main/bin/dig">nslookup source code in ISC Gitlab repository (Mozilla Public License)</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"4.3BSD Manual". <a href="https://www.unix.com/man-page/bsd/1/nslookup/" target="_blank">https://www.unix.com/man-page/bsd/1/nslookup/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"BIND 9.3.0 is now available". Isc.org. 2004-09-23. Retrieved 2015-01-13. <a href="https://lists.isc.org/pipermail/bind-announce/2004-September/000155.html" target="_blank">https://lists.isc.org/pipermail/bind-announce/2004-September/000155.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"DNS and BIND, Fourth Edition: Chapter 12. nslookup and dig". O'Reilly. Retrieved 20 July 2010. <a href="http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/networking_2ndEd/dns/ch12_01.htm" target="_blank">http://docstore.mik.ua/orelly/networking_2ndEd/dns/ch12_01.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"nslookup(1) - Linux man page". linux.die.net. <a href="https://linux.die.net/man/1/nslookup" target="_blank">https://linux.die.net/man/1/nslookup</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"reactos/reactos". GitHub. 3 January 2022. <a href="https://github.com/reactos/reactos" target="_blank">https://github.com/reactos/reactos</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"pSeries and AIX Information Center". Publib.boulder.ibm.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2012-09-05. <a href="https://archive.today/20130103083758/http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/pseries/v5r3/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.aix.cmds/doc/aixcmds4/nslookup.htm" target="_blank">https://archive.today/20130103083758/http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/pseries/v5r3/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.aix.cmds/doc/aixcmds4/nslookup.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>