Use a hostname when you want to ask DNS for an address. https://example.com/path is a URL; example.com is the hostname used by the following commands.
Ask DNS directly#
Open Command Prompt and run:
nslookup example.com
nslookup -type=AAAA example.comThe first query can return IPv4 information. The second explicitly requests IPv6 addresses. Microsoft's nslookup reference documents its query options.
Read the result in context#
A website can return several addresses, and a content-delivery network can return different answers for different resolvers or locations. The answer is not necessarily the address of a single origin server, and it does not establish who owns the website.
ping also resolves a name, but a failed ping does not prove that the site is unavailable: the destination or network may block its probes. tracert examines the route rather than providing an authoritative ownership lookup.
If you are diagnosing your own connection, distinguish this remote address from your computer's local address. The Windows IP configuration guide explains why changing a local address does not necessarily change the public address seen by a website.
