DNS Resolution

💻

You (Browser)

wants a web page

🔁

Recursive Resolver

e.g. your ISP or 8.8.8.8

🌍

Root Server

knows the TLD servers

🏛️

TLD Server

handles .com / .org

📇

Authoritative Server

holds the real record

Enter a domain and press Resolve to watch the lookup.

How DNS Works — Interactive DNS Resolution Simulator

Every website visit begins with a DNS lookup that turns a name like example.com into an IP address. This simulator animates that lookup hop by hop — from your resolver to the root, the .com TLD server, and the authoritative name server — and shows why the second lookup is instant thanks to caching.

What you can do in this simulation

Resolve any domain and watch the query walk down the DNS hierarchy one step at a time
See how each server doesn't answer directly but refers the resolver to the next one (iterative resolution)
Resolve the same domain twice to see caching make the repeat lookup instant
Follow the query/answer messages between you, the resolver, root, TLD, and authoritative servers
Understand why DNS matters: names are for humans, IP addresses are for routing

Concepts covered

DNS · domain name resolution · recursive resolver · root server · TLD · authoritative name server · DNS caching

Free to use in your browser — no signup required. Found a bug or have an idea to make it better? Tell us.