| Forward DNS lookup | Reverse DNS lookup |
|---|---|
| Converts a human input or a domain name to an IP address | Converts an IP address into a domain name |
| Has a mapping between hostnames and IP addresses | Has a mapping that relates IP addresses to hostnames |
| Used for a website or other server access | Used for network troubleshooting |
| Utilizes different servers with different IP addresses | Resolves reverse lookup queries where a client requests a hostname by providing an IP address |
| Uses A Records (basic) to identify any IP address for a particular hostname | Uses DNS pointer record to identify a hostname for a given IP address |
