nslookup/DNS challenge

[binaryfingers]

Hi

I have a DNS server running on win2003 os.
I am having trouble with it on non .com domains.

If I do nslookup pg54.com I get the following result

server ns1.99hosts.com
address 87.127.247.122

non-authoritative answer:
name: pg54.com
address: 195.74.109.99

However if I do the nslookup on pg54.co.uk I get the following result

server 99hosts.com
address: 87.127.247.122

non-authoritative answer
name: pg54.co.uk.com
address: 213.146.149.160

Can you help and advise where my error lies, why on a NON .com extension it drops the ns1 from the server name and ADDS .com to the end of the domain name.

Really appreciate the feedback.

thanks,

 

[ShackDaddy]

When you put in the host "pg54.co.uk", make sure you add a trailing "." so that it looks like this: "pg54.co.uk." It looks like your local DNS resolver (or maybe just nslookup) automatically assumes you need a trailing "." on .com addresses, but without one on another address, it adds the .com on "to help you." I tested it myself, and it's true. The local DNS resolver will behave more reliably than nslookup does, as far as knowing to add the trailing "."

ShackDaddy

 

[binaryfingers]

ShackDaddy

thanks for your help,

as you can tell Im new to this...so when you talk about the local DNS resolver...what are you referring too?

I added a . to the end of pg54.co.uk and it came back correct as you said it would.

Thanks for the advice,

 

[ShackDaddy]

The "local DNS resolver" is basically whatever your OS is actually using to resolve addresses. Your web browser doesn't just hand DNS queries to nslookup. There is some other engine under that that is resolving things, and I think that, with the help of some of the application-layer stuff, you are probably going to get better name resolution results using Firefox, for example, than you would using nslookup by itself. I may be wrong, but I think that nslookup provides a lot more room for the user to screw things up.

ShackDaddy