Find a Computer in a LAN Using an IP Address

Latest update on November 23, 2020 at 12:13 PM by Elena Keracheva .

A LAN, or a Local Area Network, provides networking capabilities to a group of computers, allowing users to easily share files, games, printers, data, and other applications. This article will explain how to find the hostname of a computer, connected in a LAN, using an IP address. Depending on the type of IP address - public or private - there are two different procedures. If you want to know how they work, keep reading.

Public IP Address

In order to find the hostname of a computer with a public IP address, you have to pass the address to the Domain Name System (DNS) server. Here are the steps to follow:

Click on the Window Start button.

Click on “All Programs”.

Click on “Accessories”.

Right-click on "Command Prompt".

Choose "Run as Administrator."

Type “nbtstat -a ”. Note that is the IP address of the computer.

Private IP Address

Finding the hostname of a computer with a private IP address and no local DNS server means you need to query the host itself by using a Windows utility. Here are the steps to follow:

Click on the Window Start button.

Click on “All Programs”.

Click on “Accessories”.

A black box opens.

Type "nslookup -a ". Note that is the IP address of the computer.

Note that it is not necessary to know an IP address in order to find other systems if you have a WiFi LAN connection.

We hope that you find these solutions useful and that your question is answered !

Image: ©Markus Spiske: www.unsplasom

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