A nameserver is a server responsible for assigning a domain name to an IP address. More plainly, it’s a computer that gives a site’s location a name that is more easily understood (i.e., computerhope.com) rather than sets of numbers separated by periods or colons.

Without nameservers, you’d need to enter IP addresses (like 216.58.216.164 for Google.com) in the browser address bar rather than the domain names they are familiar with to visit a site.

Colon, DNS, Internet domain suffixes, Internet terms, Network terms, NSP, Period, Reverse DNS lookup

  • See the MS-DOS/Windows nslookup command or Linux nslookup command page for further information about each command.
  • Network and network card help and support.