How do I do a DNS lookup in Linux?

Is nslookup obsolete?

Hi there, I'm new to Linux and really enjoying it.

Just have a question that maybe someone can help with. I would like to set up a DNS server on my Ubuntu 16.04 server. I used to do this with the original Ubuntu Server versions by installing bind9 from the repositories. Is there any reason not to just install bind 9 directly from the repositories now instead of the older version that used to be available? Also, is nslookup still used for name resolution in Linux? Thanks.

Hi, I know this is an old thread, but I just thought I'd answer anyway. I've just started using 16.04 as my desktop and as a server. In my experience, you don't need to have any "additional" DNS software, the default one is very good and quite stable. However, I do use Unbound, for certain things. If you want to get your head around why you'd do that, read through

On your question about name resolution in Linux, yes it is still in use. You will find all the old nslookup examples still work. However, you can also use dig which is the successor to nslookup.

I can't speak for the other answers here, but I find both easy to use and very useful. Both can be used in CLI and also graphically. That is to say, you can use nslookup from the command line or you can use the graphical UI.

Thanks for the feedback. I tried the graphical interface and it seems much easier than CLI nslookup. I guess I could continue to use nslookup if I absolutely have to.