How to See Where a Subdomain Resolves To

By Alan Sembera

You can set up several subdomains on your Internet server.
i Thinkstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images

All domain names such as "mywebsite.com" are registered to a specific Internet protocol (IP) address. Each domain name can have several subdomains. For example, the domain name "mywebsite.com" can have the subdomains "www.mywebsite.com" and "downloads.mywebsite.com." Subdomains can have different IP addresses than the main domain. They can even be on different servers. To resolve the IP address of a subdomain, you can use a simple tool called "Ping," that is already on your computer.

Go to a command prompt. In Windows, click "Start," "Programs," "Accessories," then "Command Prompt." A new window should appear with a command prompt.

At the command prompt type "ping mysubdomain.mywebsite.com". Replace "mysubdomain.mywebsite.com" with the name of your subdomain and website when typing in the command. Press the "Enter" key. A series of return messages will appear if the ping command was able to locate your subdomain.

Find the IP address of the subdomain in the return messages. The message should start with a message taking the format: "Pinging mysubdomain.mywebsite.com [98.124.249.20] with 32 bytes of data:" The IP address shown on your screen will be that of your subdomain.

×