How to Troubleshoot DNS
Domain Name Service, or DNS, is the heart of the Internet. When trouble develops, it can directly affect Internet connectivity. Understanding how to correctly diagnose the problem will go a long way to correcting any issues.
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Instructions
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Ensure the Internet address is correct. Double check spelling. If it is a website you are trying to access, and you entered just yourdomain,com, add www to that address (www.yourdomain.com). Some web server administrators have not configured DNS servers to route requests without the "www." This obviously only applies to client-side issues.
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On both the client and server side, some DNS issues may be caused by a lack of network connectivity. Ensure that there is a stable and working connection to the Internet. Make sure that all hardware is working properly, and test connectivity by pinging or attempting to access other servers.
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If the DNS server seems reachable through basic networking but is not responding to network requests, ensure that the DNS server is running and listening to requests. This can be done by using the "nslookup" command.
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Another potential problem could be that the requesting client is not on the list of approved IP addresses permitted to access the DNS server. This only is an issue if the administrator has decided to restrict connectivity to select clients. If this is an issue, check to see if your IP is on the white list and add it, if necessary.
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Sometimes DNS servers will be slow to respond to requests. If this is an issue, it may not be a problem with the DNS server per se. Rather, it could have to do with a "bottleneck" in Internet traffic caused by periods of high traffic and bandwidth usage.
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