Part 1 · Lesson 2 · Beginner

Names to Addresses

Turn a name into an address you can reach.

In this interactive Infrastructure lesson from Stencel Academy you don't just read — you type real commands like dig api.stencel.ai and watch the machine respond on a live, animated map. It is part of the free How Infrastructure Works course.

Key takeaway: DNS turns names into IP addresses; resolvers cache answers for TTL seconds, so repeats are instant.

Before this lesson

Builds on: Clients & Servers.

What you'll practise

dig +short api.stencel.ai — Just the answer — the flag you'll actually use.
dig api.stencel.ai AAAA — No AAAA record — no IPv6 address here. An honest empty answer.
cat /etc/hosts — Your laptop checks this file before asking any resolver.
dig -x 203.0.113.10 — Reverse DNS: ask an address for its name.

Terms you'll learn

DNSresolverA recordTTLDNS cache

Check your understanding

Run `dig` twice. Why is the second answer instant?

The resolver cached the answer; the TTL hasn't expired
The DNS hierarchy moved closer to your laptop
dig remembers old answers in your shell history

Open the interactive lesson →