What is a DNS lookup and how does it work?

A DNS lookup queries recursive or authoritative Domain Name System servers to translate human-friendly domain names (like example.com) into numerical IP addresses (like 93.184.216.34) or mail routing destinations.

How do I check MX records for business email?

Visit our DNS Lookup tool, enter your domain name, select 'MX' as the record type, and click 'Lookup DNS'. You will see all configured Mail Exchanger hosts and their priority weights (e.g., Google Workspace ASPMX servers).

What is the difference between A and CNAME records?

An A record points a hostname directly to an IPv4 address. A CNAME (Canonical Name) record creates an alias pointing one domain name to another domain name, rather than directly to an IP address.

Why are TXT records essential for email security?

TXT records hold authentication records such as SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC policies. These prevent cybercriminals from spoofing emails from your domain.

Network Utility

DNS Lookup Tool

Query any DNS record type for any domain. Powered by Cloudflare DNS-over-HTTPS — fast, secure, and private.

DNS Record Types Explained

AIPv4 address records

AAAAIPv6 address records

MXMail exchange servers

NSAuthoritative nameservers

TXTText records (SPF, DKIM, etc.)

CNAMECanonical name aliases

SOAStart of authority record

PTRReverse DNS lookup

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DNS Lookup — Frequently Asked Questions

A DNS lookup queries the Domain Name System to retrieve records associated with a domain name. The most common record types are A (IPv4 address), AAAA (IPv6 address), MX (mail servers), NS (nameservers), and TXT (text records used for SPF and DKIM email verification).

Go to IPLocatorTools DNS Lookup, enter the domain name, select MX as the record type, and click Lookup DNS. The tool will return all mail exchange servers and their priority values.

An A record (Address Record) maps a domain name to an IPv4 address. For example, the A record for google.com points to a public IP. When you type a domain into a browser, your computer queries the A record to find which IP address to connect to.

TXT records store arbitrary text data associated with a domain. The most common uses are SPF records (which email servers are allowed to send mail for the domain), DKIM keys (cryptographic email signatures), and domain verification codes for Google Search Console, Mailchimp, and similar services.

TTL stands for Time To Live. It is the number of seconds a DNS record is cached by resolvers before they query the authoritative server again. A TTL of 3600 means the record is cached for 1 hour. Lower TTL values let you propagate DNS changes faster.

DNS propagation typically takes between a few minutes and 48 hours depending on the TTL of the old record. Most resolvers worldwide will have the new record within 1 to 4 hours. You can use a DNS lookup tool to check whether the new record has propagated from different resolvers.

What is a DNS Lookup and How Does DNS Resolution Work? (RFC 1035)

The Domain Name System (DNS) acts as the global directory of the internet. Whenever a user accesses a website, their client queries a sequence of root nameservers, Top-Level Domain (TLD) servers, and Authoritative Name Servers to resolve a hostname into machine-readable network destinations.

IPLocatorTools leverages Cloudflare DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH, RFC 8484). Unlike traditional unencrypted UDP port 53 queries that can be intercepted or manipulated by local ISPs and rogue Wi-Fi access points, DoH wraps every query in encrypted TLS connections, providing authentic, tamper-proof DNS records.

Common DNS Record Types Reference Table

Inspect the purpose, syntax, and operational role of primary DNS record classifications:

Record Type	RFC Standard	Primary Purpose	Example Value
A Record	RFC 1035	Maps hostname to 32-bit IPv4 address	142.250.80.46
AAAA Record	RFC 3596	Maps hostname to 128-bit IPv6 address	2607:f8b0:4005::200e
MX Record	RFC 1035	Designates mail servers and delivery priority	10 aspmx.l.google.com
TXT Record	RFC 1035	SPF, DKIM, DMARC email security & domain verification	v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
CNAME	RFC 1035	Canonical domain alias for subdomains (e.g. www, cdn)	cdn.cloudflare.net
NS Record	RFC 1035	Delegates domain zone to authoritative nameservers	ns1.cloudflare.com
PTR Record	RFC 1035	Reverse DNS (rDNS) mapping IP to hostname	dns.google

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