host is a simple utility for performing
Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed name service that provides a naming system for computers, services, and other resources on the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information ...
lookups.
Origin
It was developed by the
Internet Systems Consortium
Internet Systems Consortium, Inc., also known as ISC, is an American non-profit corporation that supports the infrastructure of the universal, self-organizing Internet by developing and maintaining core production-quality software, protocols, and ...
(ISC), and is released under the
Mozilla Public License 2.0.
Modes
When applied to a
fully qualified domain name
A fully qualified domain name (FQDN), sometimes also called an absolute domain name, is a domain name that specifies its exact location in the tree hierarchy of the Domain Name System (DNS). It specifies all domain levels, including the top-level ...
(FQDN) the host command will return information associated with that name such as its
IP address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label such as that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two main functions: network interface i ...
and mail handling host. It can also be used to list all members of a
domain.
The host command is also able to perform
reverse IP lookups to find the FQDN associated with an IP address.
Example
See also
*
BIND
BIND () is a suite of software for interacting with the Domain Name System (DNS). Its most prominent component, named (pronounced ''name-dee'': , short for ''name Daemon (computing), daemon''), performs both of the main DNS server roles, acting ...
name server
*
dig, a utility interrogates DNS servers directly for troubleshooting and system administration purposes.
*
nslookup, another utility that can be used to obtain similar information
*
Root name server
A root name server is a name server for the root zone of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet. It directly answers requests for records in the root zone and answers other requests by returning a list of the authoritative name servers for ...
- top-level name servers providing top level domain name resolution
*
List of DNS record types
This list of DNS record types is an overview of resource records (RRs) permissible in zone files of the Domain Name System
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed name service that provides a naming system for compu ...
- possible types of records stored and queried within DNS
*
whois
WHOIS (pronounced as the phrase "who is") is a query and response protocol that is used for querying databases that store an Internet resource's registered users or assignees. These resources include domain names, IP address blocks and autonomo ...
References
External links
*
Free network-related software
DNS software
Software using the ISC license
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