DNS lookup guide
Understand how your domain resolves around the world
A DNS answer can vary by country even when everyone asks for the same hostname. Content delivery networks, traffic managers and geo-aware DNS services often return different addresses so visitors reach a nearby or healthy endpoint. Global DNS Lookup compares those answers through public DNS-over-HTTPS resolvers using representative EDNS Client Subnet prefixes. It helps you spot regional differences without collecting your IP address or requiring an account.
A records
An A record maps a hostname to an IPv4 address. Different addresses across regions can be expected when a CDN or global load balancer directs traffic geographically.
AAAA records
An AAAA record is the IPv6 equivalent of an A record. Missing AAAA answers may mean the service is IPv4-only, while inconsistent answers can reveal an incomplete IPv6 rollout.
CNAME records
A CNAME points one hostname to another. The chain often identifies the CDN, hosting platform or traffic-management service responsible for the final address.
TTL and resolver
TTL indicates how long a DNS response may be cached. The resolver label shows which public provider returned the result, which is useful when comparing cached answers during a DNS change.
How to investigate a regional DNS problem
- Look up the exact hostname users visit, not only the root domain.
- Compare CNAME chains first to see whether regions use different platforms.
- Compare A and AAAA answers and note whether the difference affects one protocol.
- Check TTL values before deciding that a recently changed record is still stale.
- Confirm the result with the authoritative DNS provider and a real network when possible.
Regional differences are not automatically errors. They become suspicious when a country receives an unexpected provider, an old address, no data, or repeated lookup failures while other regions succeed.
What the results can and cannot prove
The configured prefixes represent networks in each listed country, but the lookup is not executed by a physical probe inside every country. Public resolvers may honor, shorten or ignore EDNS Client Subnet information, and an ISP resolver may have a different cache. Use the comparison as a diagnostic signal rather than a guarantee of what every user will receive.
For implementation details, provider behavior and responsible interpretation, read how the geographic DNS comparison works.
Frequently asked questions
Why do countries return different IP addresses?
Geo-aware DNS can direct users to nearby data centers, different CDN edges or region-specific services. Different answers are often intentional.
Why is an AAAA result empty?
The hostname may not support IPv6, or the selected DNS path may not publish an IPv6 endpoint. An empty result is different from a failed request.
Does this test website availability?
No. It compares DNS records only. An address can resolve correctly while the web server, certificate, firewall or application remains unavailable.
Does the tool use my location?
No. Geographic comparisons use configured representative prefixes rather than your personal IP address. Queries are sent directly to the listed public DNS providers.