A user is unable to reach Google.com by typing the URL in the web browser but is able to reach it by typing in 172.217.3.110

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A user is unable to reach Google.com by typing the URL in the web browser but is able to reach it by typing in 172.217.3.110. What is the cause?

Google.com is being blocked by the company
Google.com is down
The DHCP server isn’t functioning properly
The workstation doesn’t have internet connectivity
The workstation is unable to resolve the domain name to the IP address

The Correct Answer and Explanation is:

Correct Answer: The workstation is unable to resolve the domain name to the IP address.

Explanation:

When a user is able to access a website by typing in the IP address (in this case, 172.217.3.110 for Google.com) but cannot access it by typing the URL (i.e., www.google.com), the issue clearly points to a Domain Name System (DNS) resolution problem.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is what allows a web address (like google.com) to be translated into an IP address that computers can use to locate and connect to web servers. When you enter a URL into a web browser, the workstation first contacts a DNS server to resolve the domain name into an IP address. If this lookup fails, the browser cannot reach the site using the domain name, even though direct IP connectivity is available.

This means:

  • The workstation has internet connectivity (it can reach the IP address).
  • The issue is not due to Google.com being blocked or down; it’s accessible via IP.
  • The DHCP server is unrelated to this issue. DHCP assigns IP addresses and other network settings but is not responsible for DNS name resolution after the initial network configuration.

Possible reasons for this DNS issue include:

  • The DNS server settings on the workstation are incorrect or missing.
  • The configured DNS server is unavailable or unresponsive.
  • There’s a local misconfiguration (like a corrupted hosts file or misconfigured proxy).
  • Network policies or firewalls might be blocking DNS queries (UDP port 53).

To resolve the issue, one should:

  1. Verify that the DNS server settings are correct (e.g., use 8.8.8.8 or 1.1.1.1).
  2. Use nslookup google.com or ping google.com to test DNS resolution.
  3. Restart the DNS client service or flush the DNS cache (ipconfig /flushdns).

Conclusion: This is a DNS resolution problem where the workstation fails to translate the domain name into its IP address.

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