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I would like to set up a name server for my home network so that I can use my easily remembered names to point at my devices. I haven't played with DNS in over 7 years and honestly don't remember how to do this. Can anyone point me to a good "how to" or something of the like to get me started?

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2 Answers 2

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I would suggest using dnsmasq, as it will give you a two fold solution: dhcp server and dns proxy for your local network.

You might want to look at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Dnsmasq

Advantages of dnsmasq is that it will resolve dhcp names in its dns proxy, and simply use /etc/hosts for static ip you might have. It is much simpler than using a full bind9 server.

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You may already be running dnsmasq by default. If you have a computer you call vince-computer try ping vince-computer.local. –  John S Gruber Oct 12 '12 at 2:25

Well, if the network is really simple and static, you could just modify /etc/hosts on all devices to have lines like:  universe  foobar

If you have too many devices or they change too often, dnsmasq (available in the repository) provides you with either a DNS server or a DHCP server, or both. There is a rudimentary setup guide on community help wiki, and documentation on dnsmasq homepage.

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Thank you. This was more help than I have gotten anywhere. –  VinceBrowning Oct 12 '12 at 9:50

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