Tech Files
Tools for TCP/IP and DNS, or
The Adventures of SuperSpy!
The hero of this Tech File is both an International Good Guy and a Certified Computer Geek. I can't reveal his civilian identity, but you can call him SuperSpy!. An evil crime syndicate has stolen some Top Secret microfilm, and according to intelligence sources, hidden it somewhere in the server room at Bad Guy Headquarters. Our hero's mission: break in to Bad Guy HQ, find the microfilm, and steal it back.
Getting into the building is the easy part of the job. After using his dazzling charm (and a few chunks of raw steak) to get past the ferocious guard dogs, he crawls inside through the Bad Guy Extra-Large Air Ducts, one of which opens conveniently into the server room. He's practically home free!
Suddenly he realizes he left his UberNetworkAnalyzer tool in the Mercedes parked down the block. Curses! Sometimes it's tough being an international hero and good guy-but SuperSpy! doesn't panic. He's got a back-up tool-a couple of them, actually-that he can use to crack this case.
The tools he's planning to use don't even take up space on his nifty-keen utility belt. They're in his head, and built right into the bad guys' Windows operating systems!
NSLOOKUP
Inside the server room, SuperSpy! gets down to work. The first thing he needs to find out is the name of the bad guys' DNS server (just go with me here, OK?). Sitting down at the keyboard of a workstation near the rack, he pulls out his first tool: NSLOOKUP.
You don't have to be a spy to use NSLOOKUP; this cool utility is available on any Windows 9x or NT/2000 machine with TCP/IP installed. It can tell you, among other things, the name of the DNS server that your machine currently uses.
At a command line, simply type NSLOOKUP and press [ENTER] to see the name of your DNS server displayed.
For further detail on how you can use NSLOOKUP, see this Microsoft TechNet article: NSLOOKUP
Armed with the bad guys' DNS server name, SuperSpy! attempts to PING that server, only to find that he can't reach it. This can mean only one thing: the bad guys have used one of the routers in their network as a hiding place for the stolen microfilm! Very clever … but not clever enough to stop SuperSpy! from prevailing.
Our hero now launches into Phase II of his super-secret operation: finding out which machine is hiding that microfilm.
TRACERT
Turning to the server rack, SuperSpy! takes a moment to gaze admiringly at this tower of networking power. There must be dozens of machines in there! Ah, but this is no time to admire the hardware prowess of his arch-enemies-there's important spy work to be done.
If one of those neatly labeled machines is now merely a hiding place for the stolen microfilm, it can no longer be a working part of the network. But which one is it? SuperSpy! decides to use another common TCP/IP utility to save the day; this time, his weapon of choice will be TRACERT.
The TRACERT utility is pretty handy for non-spy work as well. It shows the route that a packet takes to get to its destination. From a command line, just type TRACERT followed by a space and an IP address.
The output describes the route from your machine to the destination machine, including all devices it passes through and how long each hop takes.
TRACERT can come in handy when you have to troubleshoot bottlenecks. When users
complain that it's difficult to reach a particular destination using TCP/IP,
you can run this utility to determine if the problem exists on a machine or
connection over which you have control, or if it is a problem on another machine
or router. Similarly, if a destination is completely unreachable, TRACERT can
again determine if the problem is on a machine or router over which you have
control.
Meanwhile, Back at Bad Guy Headquarters …
Our hero attempts to trace a route to his home domain, SuperSpy.net, and gets lucky on his first try: the trace stops dead in its tracks at a machine called badguys.hq.12. Aha! He goes to the rack, locates server 12 by its neatly printed sticker (SuperSpy! loves anal-retentive bad guys). Sure enough, nestled inside the hard drive bay, is the canister holding the stolen microfilm. Bingo!
With the film safely recovered, SuperSpy! sneaks out of the bad guys' building as neatly as he came in. He emerges from an alleyway onto the street where his Mercedes is parked, hops into the passenger seat, and looks smugly over at his partner, Bambi.
"Got it," he says, patting the coat pocket where the film canister is safely nestled.
"It's about time," Bambi says dismissively, revving the Mercedes' engine and peeling out onto the darkened street. "If I'd have won the coin toss and gone in myself, we'd be back at Good Guy Spy Central by now, having a Guinness and watching the game. What took you so long, anyway?"
"I think I was rather quick, actually," retorts SuperSpy!, "Considering the fact that I did it all without the help of the UberNetworkAnalyzer."
"But then how-" begins Bambi, clearly amazed.
SuperSpy! sees his partner's awestruck look and flashes his best good-guy smile. "Elementary, my dear. I got what I came for using NSLOOKUP and TRACERT."