Which two utilities can be used to query a DNS server?

The correct response identifies nslookup and dig as utilities specifically designed for querying DNS servers. Both of these tools serve the purpose of retrieving DNS information, which includes translating domain names into IP addresses and vice versa.

Nslookup is a command-line tool available on various operating systems that allows users to interactively query DNS records. It offers basic capabilities such as looking up A records, MX records, and more, providing immediate feedback in a straightforward manner.

Dig (Domain Information Groper) is another command-line tool that is more powerful and flexible than nslookup. It provides detailed information about DNS queries, including the options to perform specific types of queries, retrieve verbose information, and even provide timing details about the response. This makes it particularly valuable for troubleshooting DNS issues.

The other options consist of utilities that do not serve the primary function of querying DNS servers. Ping and traceroute are used for network diagnostics and determining the path data takes to reach a specific destination, but they do not directly query DNS servers for record information. Likewise, curl and wget are primarily used to transfer data over HTTP/S protocols, while ftp and ssh are protocols and tools designed for file transfer and secure remote access, respectively. None of these options are focused on querying DNS servers.