If a website's domain name cannot be resolved but the IP address works, what does this suggest about DNS availability?

If a website's domain name cannot be resolved but the IP address works, what does this suggest about DNS availability?

• A. The domain name is expired
• B. The firewall is blocking DNS
• C. The web server is down
• D. The DNS servers were offline

Answer: (D)

DNS availability is about whether name-to-IP lookups can be performed. If you can reach the site by its IP address but the domain name cannot be resolved, the service itself is reachable but the name-resolution path is not. That points to the DNS servers being offline—they’re not responding to queries, so your resolver can’t translate the domain to the IP. The site being reachable by IP shows the web server is up, while DNS is the failing link. While other scenarios could cause similar symptoms in some cases, the clearest match here is that the DNS servers are offline, blocking name resolution.

DNS availability is about whether name-to-IP lookups can be performed. If you can reach the site by its IP address but the domain name cannot be resolved, the service itself is reachable but the name-resolution path is not. That points to the DNS servers being offline—they’re not responding to queries, so your resolver can’t translate the domain to the IP. The site being reachable by IP shows the web server is up, while DNS is the failing link. While other scenarios could cause similar symptoms in some cases, the clearest match here is that the DNS servers are offline, blocking name resolution.