NSLOOKUP(1)			     BIND9			   NSLOOKUP(1)



NAME
       nslookup - query Internet name servers interactively

SYNOPSIS
       nslookup [-option] [name | -] [server]

DESCRIPTION
       Nslookup is a program to query Internet domain name servers.  Nslookup
       has two modes: interactive and non-interactive. Interactive mode allows
       the user to query name servers for information about various hosts and
       domains or to print a list of hosts in a domain. Non-interactive mode
       is used to print just the name and requested information for a host or
       domain.

ARGUMENTS
       Interactive mode is entered in the following cases:

       1. when no arguments are given (the default name server will be used)

       2. when the first argument is a hyphen (-) and the second argument is
	  the host name or Internet address of a name server.


Non-interactive mode is used when the name or Internet address of the host to
be looked up is given as the first argument. The optional second argument
specifies the host name or address of a name server.

Options can also be specified on the command line if they precede the
arguments and are prefixed with a hyphen. For example, to change the default
query type to host information, and the initial timeout to 10 seconds, type:

INTERACTIVE COMMANDS
       host [server]
	  Look up information for host using the current default server or
	  using server, if specified. If host is an Internet address and the
	  query type is A or PTR, the name of the host is returned. If host is
	  a name and does not have a trailing period, the search list is used
	  to qualify the name.

	  To look up a host not in the current domain, append a period to the
	  name.

       server domain

       lserver domain
	  Change the default server to domain; lserver uses the initial server
	  to look up information about domain, while server uses the current
	  default server. If an authoritative answer cant be found, the names
	  of servers that might have the answer are returned.

       root
	  not implemented

       finger
	  not implemented

       ls not implemented

       view
	  not implemented

       help
	  not implemented

       ?  not implemented

       exit
	  Exits the program.

       set keyword[=value]
	  This command is used to change state information that affects the
	  lookups. Valid keywords are:

	  all
	     Prints the current values of the frequently used options to set.
	     Information about the current default server and host is also
	     printed.

	  class=value
	     Change the query class to one of:

	     IN the Internet class

	     CH the Chaos class

	     HS the Hesiod class

	     ANY
		wildcard

	     The class specifies the protocol group of the information.

	     (Default = IN; abbreviation = cl)

	  [no]debug
	     Turn debugging mode on. A lot more information is printed about
	     the packet sent to the server and the resulting answer.

	     (Default = nodebug; abbreviation = [no]deb)

	  [no]d2
	     Turn debugging mode on. A lot more information is printed about
	     the packet sent to the server and the resulting answer.

	     (Default = nod2)

	  domain=name
	     Sets the search list to name.

	  [no]search
	     If the lookup request contains at least one period but doesnt
	     end with a trailing period, append the domain names in the domain
	     search list to the request until an answer is received.

	     (Default = search)

	  port=value
	     Change the default TCP/UDP name server port to value.

	     (Default = 53; abbreviation = po)

	  querytype=value

	  type=value
	     Change the type of the information query.

	     (Default = A; abbreviations = q, ty)

	  [no]recurse
	     Tell the name server to query other servers if it does not have
	     the information.

	     (Default = recurse; abbreviation = [no]rec)

	  retry=number
	     Set the number of retries to number.

	  timeout=number
	     Change the initial timeout interval for waiting for a reply to
	     number seconds.

	  [no]vc
	     Always use a virtual circuit when sending requests to the server.

	     (Default = novc)



FILES
       /etc/resolv.conf

SEE ALSO
       dig(1), host(1), named(8).

AUTHOR
       Andrew Cherenson

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright  2004-2006 Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC")



BIND9				 Jun 30, 2000			   NSLOOKUP(1)