To identify the host name assigned to an IP address, a network administrator would perform a reverse lookup. This type of query returns the PTR (Pointer) record that maps an IP address to a host name. A forward lookup, in contrast, translates a host name to an IP address and would not provide the information necessary when starting with an IP address. An iterative lookup refers to a DNS server querying other servers until a response can be provided. A recursive query is made by a client to a DNS server and requires the server to provide a complete answer without the client needing to make additional requests.