Resolving DNS Domain Names using dig Command on Windows VPS

Introduction

The dig command (short for “domain information groper”) is a network administration command-line tool used for querying DNS (Domain Name System) servers. In this guide, we’ll show you how to install and use the dig command on a Linux VPS to resolve DNS domain names.

Step 1: Install Linux VPSSubsystem for Linux (WSL)

By default, the dig command is not available on Windows. However, you can install it through the Linux VPSSubsystem for Linux (WSL). Follow these steps to install WSL on your Linux VPS:

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator and run the following command:

wsl --install

1. Restart your system if prompted.
2. Once your system restarts, install a Linux distribution from the Microsoft Store (e.g., Ubuntu).
3. After installation, open your chosen Linux distribution and complete the setup process (create a user, set password).

Step 2: Install dig Command

After setting up WSL, you’ll need to install the dig command, which is included in the dnsutils package on most Linux distributions. Follow these steps:

1. Open your WSL terminal (e.g., Ubuntu) and update the package list:

sudo apt update

1. Install the dnsutils package by running:

sudo apt install dnsutils

1. Once installed, you can use the dig command to resolve DNS domain names.

Step 3: Use dig to Resolve DNS Domain Names

Once the dig command is installed, you can use it to resolve domain names to their corresponding IP addresses. Here’s how to use it:

1. To query the IP address of a domain, run the following command:

dig example.com

1. You’ll see output with various information, including the resolved IP address under the ANSWER SECTION:

;; ANSWER SECTION:
example.com.        299     IN      A       93.184.216.34

1. To query a specific type of DNS record, such as an MX (Mail Exchange) record, use:

dig example.com MX

1. To query a specific DNS server, use the @ symbol followed by the DNS server’s address:

dig @8.8.8.8 example.com

This will query Google’s public DNS server (8.8.8.8) to resolve example.com.

Step 4: Interpret dig Command Output

The dig command outputs various sections of information. Here’s how to interpret them:

• QUESTION SECTION: The query you made (e.g., example.com).
• ANSWER SECTION: The DNS record(s) returned in response to the query. For example, the A record contains the IP address of the domain.
• AUTHORITY SECTION: The authoritative nameservers for the domain.
• ADDITIONAL SECTION: Additional information, such as the IP addresses of the nameservers.

For example, a basic dig query for example.com would return information similar to this:

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;example.com.                   IN      A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
example.com.            299     IN      A       93.184.216.34

;; AUTHORITY SECTION:
example.com.            172800  IN      NS      a.iana-servers.net.
example.com.            172800  IN      NS      b.iana-servers.net.

Step 5: Advanced dig Commands

Here are some more advanced uses of the dig command on your Linux VPS:

• Trace the DNS query path: You can use the +trace option to trace the path of the DNS query from the root DNS servers down to the authoritative nameservers:

dig +trace example.com

• Show all DNS records: To query all types of DNS records for a domain, use the ANY option:

dig example.com ANY

• Query the reverse DNS (PTR) record: To resolve an IP address to its domain name (reverse DNS lookup), use the -x flag:

dig -x 93.184.216.34

Step 6: Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues while using the dig command on your Linux VPS, here are some common troubleshooting steps:

• Ensure that the DNS server you are querying is reachable and operational.
• Check if the domain you are querying is valid and properly configured.
• If the dig command does not return any results, try querying a different DNS server (e.g., Google’s public DNS server at 8.8.8.8).

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and used the dig command on your Linux VPS to resolve DNS domain names. With this tool, you can efficiently query DNS records and troubleshoot DNS issues. For further details on the dig command, refer to the official dig manual.