Identifying Your Local DNS Server

DNS, which lets you translate a host name or URL into an IP address, is a key process in Internet use. One of the first questions that you need to ask yourself, when you have an Internet problem that may involve DNS, is

What DNS servers are you using?

and many times, this question can be answered by direct observation of the IP configuration of your computer.

If your computer runs Windows XP, or one of its direct peers (Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows 7), open a command window, and type

ipconfig /all

Here's an example of what I would see, from my computer.

Windows IP Configuration
        Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : PChuck1
        Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
        Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast
        IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
        DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : pchuck.net
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
        Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
        Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 3Com EtherLink XL 10/100 PCI For Complete PC Management NIC (3C905C-TX)
        Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-04-76-D7-C5-6A
        Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
        Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
        IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.50
        Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
        Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
        DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.11
                                            192.168.1.33
        Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, April 16, 2003 11:19:12
        Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, April 23, 2003 11:19:12

In this example, DNS on my computer is provided by "192.168.1.11" and "192.168.1.33". What you see on your IPConfig log will probably be different, and may be a key clue in diagnosing the problem which you are experiencing.

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