what is a name server lookup?

A name server lookup is an integral part of how the Internet functions. It is a process by which a computer tries to locate the DNS (Domain Name System) record for a particular domain name or hostname and then returns the associated IP address (Internet Protocol address).

The primary purpose of a name server lookup is to provide an efficient way of finding the necessary information regarding computers, networks, services, and applications over the Internet. For example, when you type in www.example.com into your web browser, your computer will send out a query to many name servers asking them to locate the IP address associated with that site so it can be loaded onto your screen.

To understand how this works more closely, it's useful to know some basics about Domain Name System (DNS) records: Every domain consists of two parts – a domain label followed by a top-level domain such as .org or .com. Both parts must be included in order for computers to find the corresponding DNS record. The record itself contains important information about where web pages and other resources are located on the web – for example, its IP address and various other settings that can help redirect traffic if necessary.

Name server lookups are usually conducted hierarchically: It starts with checking its own local list of DNS records before passing queries up through an 'authoritative' hierarchy from so-called 'root' servers which list out all top-level domains around the world. At each step of this process, each DNS lookup server will add its own set of data that may further direct traffic in one direction or another before finally resolving any query to its end point location (web page or resource). If a particular name server doesn't have an answer to any given query it will pass it on up the hierarchy until eventually it finds an answer – this is why sometimes these lookups may take some time depending on what you're trying to do.