How to Resolve IP Addresses to Host Name

Use the Windows Nslookup utility to locate the host names associated with an IP address.

Internet IP addresses usually have a DNS (domain name system) host name associated with them. This can be used to connect to a host over the Internet with an easy-to-remember name rather than a complex IP address number. If you have the IP address of a host and would like to use the host name instead, you can use a simple command line tool in Windows to quickly find the host name.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft Windows 7

Instructions

1. Click the "Start" button on the PC desktop of the Windows 7 computer. Click "Programs" then "Accessories." Right-click on the command prompt icon in the menu that displays and click "Run as Administrator."

2. Type "nslookup a.b.c.d" but replace the "a.b.c.d" with the IP address you wish to resolve to its associated host names.

3. Press the "Enter" key. The command prompt will display a list of the host names associated with the IP address. Repeat the procedure for each IP address for which associated host names are needed.

References

• Thunderstone: Nslookup -- Domain Name and IP Address Lookup
• Microsoft Support: Using Nslookup.exe