VxRail: How To Verify DNS Functionality With Dig

Verifying DNS Functionality with Dig

This article helps using the Linux dig tool to verify the customer DNS configuration when there are suspected name resolution issues.

Basic DNS Query

By default, with no name server specified, the DNS resolver in the /etc/resolv.conf file is used. Dig also looks for an A record with no other options specified.

mystic@qvxrm:~> dig esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com +short
192.0.2.100

mystic@qvxrm:~> dig esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com
; <<>> DiG 9.9.9-P1 <<>> esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 14171
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4000
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com.        IN      A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com. 3600 IN A       192.0.2.100

;; Query time: 0 msec
;; SERVER: 192.0.2.200#53(192.0.2.200)
;; WHEN: Mon Oct 01 06:53:43 UTC 2018
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 75

Query Specific Name Server

Specify a name server to send the query to with the @ symbol, followed by the hostname or IP address of the name server to communicate with.

mystic@qvxrm:~> dig esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com +short
192.0.2.100

mystic@qvxrm:~> dig @192.0.2.200 esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com +short
192.0.2.100

mystic@qvxrm:~> dig @192.0.2.200 esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com

; <<>> DiG 9.9.9-P1 <<>> @192.0.2.200 esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com
; (1 server found)
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 35841
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4000
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com.        IN      A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com. 3600 IN A       192.0.2.100

;; Query time: 0 msec
;; SERVER: 192.0.2.200#53(192.0.2.200)
;; WHEN: Mon Oct 01 06:54:40 UTC 2018
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 75

Reverse DNS Lookup

We can use dig to perform a reverse DNS lookup, query an IP and find the domain name from the Pointer Record (PTR). This is done by using the -x option followed by the IP address.

mystic@qvxrm:~> dig -x 192.0.2.100 +short
esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com.

mystic@qvxrm:~> dig @192.0.2.200 -x 192.0.2.100 +short
esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com.

mystic@qvxrm:~> dig -x 192.0.2.100

; <<>> DiG 9.9.9-P1 <<>> -x 192.0.2.100
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 42434
;; flags: qr aa rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 1, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4000
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;100.2.0.192.in-addr.arpa.     IN      PTR

;; ANSWER SECTION:
100.2.0.192.in-addr.arpa. 3600 IN      PTR     esxi-vxrail-quanta-01.domain.com.

;; Query time: 0 msec
;; SERVER: 192.0.2.200#53(192.0.2.200)
;; WHEN: Mon Oct 01 06:55:57 UTC 2018
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 98

Reference https://www.rootusers.com/12-dig-command-examples-to-query-dns-in-linux/ for additional examples.