Target Hostname or IP Address – Get IP from Hostname

When the user enters the name of the website in the browser window, a DNS request is formed to the proximate server. The server sends back a response to the client with an IP address of the requested web resource. If the nearest DNS server does not give an answer, then the request is sent to another server in the DNS tree hierarchy till the IP address is found.

You can reach a required web resource without requesting a DNS server. To do this simply insert the IP address of a web resource followed by a forward slash in the address bar of the browser window.

There are many approaches to find an IP address of the web resource based on its hostname. The simplest and most obvious option is to use the command-line interface or console on your computer. In addition, you can use online IP lookup services. In some cases, if the corresponding option is provided you can use WHOIS services which provide publicly available information on any domain name or IP address. Let’s have a closer look at these approaches.

Using the Command Line to Get an IP address of a Web Resource

The most popular and frequently used command to get the IP address of the host is the ping command. The ping command initiates the exchange of packets with the selected host, and returns not only data about the host availability, but also provides the host’s IP address that will be displayed in square brackets after the hostname of the requested resource. Learn more about setting up a Ping/ICMP device with the Dotcom-Monitor platform.

Windows

To start the command line, in the search line type cmd and press Enter. This will open a command prompt. Then, select Command Prompt in the list.

In an open command line, type ping followed by the hostname (for example, ping dotcom-monitor.com). and press Enter. The command line will show the IP address of the requested web resource in the response.

An alternative way to call Command Prompt is the keyboard shortcut Win + R.

Linux

If you use a Linux operating system, then to run the console, use the Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut.

In the opened window, type in “ping” followed by a space and enter the hostname which IP address you want to receive. Then press Enter.

MAC OS

If your computer runs Mac OS, then use the Terminal app that has similar functions as the command-line interface. For quick access to the Terminal app, click the Spotlight search icon in the upper right corner of the screen. Then enter the word “Terminal” in the search line and double-click on the terminal icon displayed in the search results. In the terminal window, type ping followed by a space and enter the hostname of the web resource (for example, ping www.google.com).

Also, on the Mac OS, you can use the Network Utility. Open Network Utility on the MAC and go to the ping tab. Enter the hostname and click the Ping button.

Using WHOIS Services to Find the IP Address of a Hostname

To find an IP address of any web resource by its hostname you can also use WHOIS services. WHOIS domain’s IP check allows you to find out information about a website, including who owns the domain and the website – an organization or an individual. However, while this information is often provided in the Administrator and similar sections, in some cases the owner information may not be displayed. This property may be set by the rules of a particular domain zone or the personal data may be hidden by the domain owner. If the corresponding data is provided by a WHOIS service, you can view the public information of any domain name or IP address.

Using an online WHOIS service seems to be easier and more convenient for the majority of people. All you need to do is to navigate to one of the free online WHOIS services and enter the target domain name in the search bar. The service response will contain the IP address of the requested domain name in the hosting provider section.

Generally, in addition to information about IP addresses of a web resource, the services provide a lot of other useful information about the web resource and its owner. This data may include:

• Information about the owner of the domain name. This field displays information about who owns the domain name you are interested in – contact information, phone number, email address, etc.

• Domain name registration and expiration date. In this section, you can find information on when the domain name was registered and how much more it will be assigned to this owner.

• Information about a hosting provider. This section contains the IP address of the website you are interested in and information about the hosting company that provides hosting for the web resource that you specified. You can also check the DNS servers used by the target web resource in this section.

Using Online IP Address Lookup Services

There are many specialized web services that help to get an IP address of any website without using specialized software. Using this kind of service is very simple. Simply enter the address of the site you are interested in in the search bar, and you will receive all the information in a couple of minutes. Dotcom-Tools.com has a DNS lookup function that can be quite helpful in resolving a site’s IP address, and this is especially useful if you’re trying to ascertain the IP address of a website or web service in order to protect your privacy online.

How to Get the Hostname by an IP Address

We have already learned how to find the IP address by a hostname using different approaches. But is it possible to execute the search in the opposite direction and find the hostname of a target website by its IP address? The answer depends on the existence of the DNS records that correspond to the requested IP. If such type of record was not created on a DNS server for the required IP, the reverse resolving will require additional skills. Otherwise, if the corresponding DNS record exists, WHOIS services are the best choice to query for the hostname by its IP address.

Generally, it takes several simple steps to find an IP address with a WHOIS service. All you need is to open a WHOIS service website in a browser and enter the IP address in a search bar. The hostname will be displayed in the corresponding section in the lookup results.