How to Determine a DNS Server Address

DNS is nothing but an acronym for Domain Name System. When faced with
Internet-related problems, the DNS server address is required as part of
the troubleshooting process. Read on to find out how to determine a DNS
server address.

Have you ever tried restoring your Internet
connection by yourself? If yes, then you would be somewhat familiar with
the terms DNS, DNS server address, etc. For the benefit of those who
feel a little bit alienated with all these terminologies, let me start
from the very beginning.

The full form of DNS happens to be
Domain Name System. Without going into too much of technological detail,
let me explain its importance in the field of Internet technology.

Importance of DNS Server Address
DNS
servers maintain a log of each and every website on the Internet. Each
website is associated with a unique IP (Internet Protocol) address in
the form "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx". To consider an example, the IP address of www.buzzle.com
happens to be 209.18.68.131. Now the problem here is that the DNS
servers keep track of every website on the basis of its IP address, and
not its domain name. However, we as humans find it much easier to
remember a website by its name rather than its number. Naturally, there
has to be some way to get around this problem. Here is where the concept
of Domain Name System steps in.

When, as a user, you type in "www.buzzle.com"
into the address bar of your web browser, your computer sends a request
to the nearest DNS server, which maps i.e. compares the string "www.buzzle.com"
with its corresponding numeric IP address. Once this is successfully
completed, the DNS server redirects your computer to that particular IP
address, after which the webpage opens up in your web browser. With over
5 billion websites on the Internet, you can very well imagine the
magnitude of the IP address directory and the speed at which the DNS
server needs to work in order to ensure a fast and efficient Internet
browsing experience.

Many a time, re-configuring your computer's
DNS server address is one of the common activities performed when
troubleshooting Internet-related problems. Here is how to determine the
DNS server address of your computer.

How to Find a DNS Server Address
The
simplest and quickest way to find the DNS server address of your
computer is to locate it through the command prompt. You can do this
through the following steps:

Procedure

Click on the "Start" button on the bottom-left of your computer screen.
From among the various program options that are displayed, click on
"Run". A small window will open up at the bottom of the screen. Type in
the command "cmd" and press Enter.
A new window with a black
background will open up on your computer screen. Now you need to type in
the command 'ipconfig/all', as it is, in command prompt and press
Enter.
You will immediately see a host of information appear in
the black window. Scroll through the data until you locate the line that
contains the words "DNS Servers". The number i.e. IP address that is
displayed next to the words "DNS Servers" is nothing but the DNS server
address of your computer.
In most cases, your computer uses two
DNS server addresses - one is a preferred DNS server address and the
second is an alternate DNS server address. Both of these will be
displayed one below the other in the command prompt window next to the
words DNS Servers.

Alternate Method to Determine a DNS Server Address
There
is another way in which you can find the DNS server address of your
computer. You should click on the "Start" button and go to the "Control
Panel". In the Control Panel window, you should double-click on "Network
Connections". This will open up a new window which will display the
Internet connection that you are presently using. Right-click on that
icon and select "Properties" from the list of options available. In the
subsequent window that appears, highlight the phrase that contains the
words 'Internet Protocol' and click on the command button named
'Properties'. A new window will subsequently be displayed and you can
view both the DNS server addresses at the bottom of the window.

You
can use the above methods to determine the DNS server address of your
computer. Just make sure that you do not change it accidentally, or else
you might end up facing problems in browsing the Internet.
By Tintin

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