DNS Monitor vs dig and nslookup

dig and nslookup are the command-line workhorses of DNS. Every system administrator, network engineer, and DevOps professional knows them. They are fast, reliable, available on virtually every platform, and give you raw, unfiltered DNS data straight from the source.

DNS Monitor does not replace these tools. It fills a fundamentally different role. The relationship between CLI tools and continuous monitoring is complementary, not competitive. Understanding when to reach for each one makes your DNS operations stronger.

Feature Comparison

Capability	DNS Monitor	dig / nslookup
Interactive DNS queries	✗	✓
Query specific nameservers	✗	✓
Trace resolution path	✗	✓ (dig +trace)
Continuous monitoring	✓	✗
Automatic change detection	✓	✗
Multi-location checking	✓	✗ (single location)
Change history with diffs	✓	✗
Alerting on changes	✓	✗
No setup required	✗	✓
Works offline	✗	✓ (queries local resolver)

What dig and nslookup Do Well

These tools have survived decades because they are genuinely excellent at what they do. No web interface or monitoring dashboard can fully replace the power of a direct DNS query from the command line.

Precise, targeted queries

You can query any record type from any nameserver with exact control over the query parameters. Want to check if Google's resolver sees the same A record as Cloudflare's? One command each, instant answer.

Resolution tracing

dig +trace follows the full resolution path from root servers through TLD servers to authoritative nameservers. This is indispensable for debugging delegation issues and understanding how DNS actually resolves your domain.

Raw protocol output

dig shows you flags, sections, TTL values, query time, and the responding server. This raw output teaches you DNS at the protocol level and reveals details that higher-level tools abstract away.

Universal availability

dig is installed on virtually every Linux and macOS system. nslookup is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux out of the box. You can troubleshoot DNS on any machine without installing anything.

Every DNS professional should know these tools

Regardless of what monitoring tools you use, being fluent with dig and nslookup is a core skill. They give you direct access to the DNS protocol and are irreplaceable for debugging.

Where CLI Tools Fall Short

The limitations of dig and nslookup are not about capability but about scope. They are point-in-time, single-location, manually initiated queries. This is perfect for investigation but insufficient for ongoing monitoring.

Single location, single moment

A dig query tells you what one resolver sees right now. It does not tell you what resolvers in Tokyo, London, or Sao Paulo see. It does not tell you what the answer was an hour ago.

No alerting

dig cannot watch a record and notify you when it changes. You would need to write a script, run it on a cron job, compare outputs, and build your own alerting. Most teams never get around to this.

No change history

There is no built-in mechanism to track how records have changed over time. Each query is independent, with no connection to previous results.

Manual effort does not scale

Checking one domain with dig takes seconds. Checking 50 domains across all record types from multiple resolvers takes hours. It is not a sustainable monitoring strategy.

How They Work Together

The ideal workflow uses both tools in their areas of strength:

DNS Monitor watches continuously

Automated monitoring checks all your domains, all record types, from multiple global locations on a regular schedule. It builds a history and detects changes.

An alert fires when something changes

DNS Monitor detects a change in your MX records and sends an alert with the diff showing old and new values.

You investigate with dig

You open a terminal and run targeted dig queries to understand the change. You trace the resolution path, check specific nameservers, and verify whether the change has propagated.

You resolve the issue

Armed with data from both the monitoring alert and your CLI investigation, you take corrective action and use DNS Monitor to confirm the fix propagated globally.

Let Monitoring Handle the Watching

DNS Monitor runs continuous checks across global locations so you can focus on using dig and nslookup for what they do best: investigation and debugging.

When to Choose dig and nslookup

You are debugging an active DNS issue

When you need to trace resolution, query specific servers, or inspect raw protocol output, CLI tools are the right choice.

You need to verify a specific record from a specific resolver

Monitoring tools check from predefined locations. If you need to query a particular ISP's resolver or your corporate DNS server, dig gives you that control.

You are learning how DNS works

There is no better teacher than running dig queries and reading the output. The raw protocol data builds intuition that no dashboard can replicate.

When to Choose DNS Monitor

You need ongoing awareness of DNS changes

CLI tools are for moments. Monitoring is for everything in between. DNS Monitor catches changes that happen when you are not looking.

You need multi-location visibility

DNS Monitor checks from multiple global locations simultaneously, showing you how your records appear across the internet, not just from your local resolver.

You need a record of what changed and when

Change history with diff views gives you the context you need for incident response, audits, and understanding the timeline of events.

You manage many domains

Automated monitoring scales to any number of domains. Manual CLI checks do not.

Our Honest Take

We love dig and nslookup. Seriously. They are brilliant tools that every DNS professional should master. DNS Monitor is not a replacement for them and we would never suggest it is. What we do suggest is that relying on them as your only DNS visibility strategy has a fundamental gap: they only work when you think to use them. DNS Monitor fills that gap by providing the continuous, automated watching layer that CLI tools were never designed for. Use dig to debug. Use DNS Monitor to detect.

Master your CLI tools for investigation. Deploy automated monitoring for continuous awareness. The best DNS operations use both.

Continuous DNS Awareness

DNS Monitor watches your records around the clock from multiple global locations. When something changes, you will know immediately and can investigate with the CLI tools you already trust.

Part of Boring Tools—boring tools for boring jobs.