computer name resolution without domain controller?

[dBeau]

I loaded OpenWrt firmware on my linksys router and use dnsmasq, which is a cache-only DNS server. I always statically assign my IP addresses on my network, I have very little trust for DHCP. So I just use the router address as my dns server and put any addresses in it's hosts file.

I used to use hosts files and have each machine download a copy on login from a centralized fileshare, but the OpenWrt solution is much better.

I second the use of dnsmasq running on the router. Chances are you need a router anyways. Most routers come set up out of the box for doing dhcp on your local net. This is a much better than a windows based solution if you are going to have any embedded devices on your network as they usually dont understand the netbios protocols but they do understand dhcp. The nice thing about dnsmasq is that not only is it a caching dns server, but it also knows how to get name/ip mappings from the dhcp server. Other solutions do this in various ways but can be a bit tricky to set up. Windows dns server does it in a way that tend to make it work only with windows dhcp clients. Since dnsmasq is both a dhcp server and a name server in the same process, there is only one thing that can go wrong. Some dhcp clients dont tell the dhcp server their name (most do however) when requesting an ip address. When this happens there is no way for the name server to make the association. Fortunately, dnsmasq will also let you add names for dhcp clients that dont send their names along with the dhcp request. It will also let you simply assign a static address to devices that dont run a dhcp client and then serve the name given to it via dns.

A router capable of running dd-wrt or OpenWRT will cost about $50. Being able to manage your device names from one place on the network is well worth the price. But wait, there's more. How many times have you wanted to contact a device on the inside of your network while on the road? These routers (sometimes without even upgrading the firmware) will let you do that too through the use of the dynamic dns client. Now, how much would you pay?

 

[jasv]

I use simple DNS which works very well. To software also has caching and DHCP. You can find it at www.simpledns.com

 

[felixrosbergen]

I loaded OpenWrt firmware on my linksys router and use dnsmasq, which is a cache-only DNS server. I always statically assign my IP addresses on my network, I have very little trust for DHCP. So I just use the router address as my dns server and put any addresses in it's hosts file.

I used to use hosts files and have each machine download a copy on login from a centralized fileshare, but the OpenWrt solution is much better.

I second the use of dnsmasq running on the router. Chances are you need a router anyways. Most routers come set up out of the box for doing dhcp on your local net. This is a much better than a windows based solution if you are going to have any embedded devices on your network as they usually dont understand the netbios protocols but they do understand dhcp. The nice thing about dnsmasq is that not only is it a caching dns server, but it also knows how to get name/ip mappings from the dhcp server. Other solutions do this in various ways but can be a bit tricky to set up. Windows dns server does it in a way that tend to make it work only with windows dhcp clients. Since dnsmasq is both a dhcp server and a name server in the same process, there is only one thing that can go wrong. Some dhcp clients dont tell the dhcp server their name (most do however) when requesting an ip address. When this happens there is no way for the name server to make the association. Fortunately, dnsmasq will also let you add names for dhcp clients that dont send their names along with the dhcp request. It will also let you simply assign a static address to devices that dont run a dhcp client and then serve the name given to it via dns.

A router capable of running dd-wrt or OpenWRT will cost about $50. Being able to manage your device names from one place on the network is well worth the price. But wait, there's more. How many times have you wanted to contact a device on the inside of your network while on the road? These routers (sometimes without even upgrading the firmware) will let you do that too through the use of the dynamic dns client. Now, how much would you pay?

Can i put this firmware onto a linksys befw11s4? (standard linksys wireless router about 4-5 years old)

If not what linksyst router would this work on since i'm considering getting a gigabit wireless G/N router with VPN anyway.

 

[dBeau]

I loaded OpenWrt firmware on my linksys router and use dnsmasq, which is a cache-only DNS server. I always statically assign my IP addresses on my network, I have very little trust for DHCP. So I just use the router address as my dns server and put any addresses in it's hosts file.

I used to use hosts files and have each machine download a copy on login from a centralized fileshare, but the OpenWrt solution is much better.

I second the use of dnsmasq running on the router. Chances are you need a router anyways. Most routers come set up out of the box for doing dhcp on your local net. This is a much better than a windows based solution if you are going to have any embedded devices on your network as they usually dont understand the netbios protocols but they do understand dhcp. The nice thing about dnsmasq is that not only is it a caching dns server, but it also knows how to get name/ip mappings from the dhcp server. Other solutions do this in various ways but can be a bit tricky to set up. Windows dns server does it in a way that tend to make it work only with windows dhcp clients. Since dnsmasq is both a dhcp server and a name server in the same process, there is only one thing that can go wrong. Some dhcp clients dont tell the dhcp server their name (most do however) when requesting an ip address. When this happens there is no way for the name server to make the association. Fortunately, dnsmasq will also let you add names for dhcp clients that dont send their names along with the dhcp request. It will also let you simply assign a static address to devices that dont run a dhcp client and then serve the name given to it via dns.

A router capable of running dd-wrt or OpenWRT will cost about $50. Being able to manage your device names from one place on the network is well worth the price. But wait, there's more. How many times have you wanted to contact a device on the inside of your network while on the road? These routers (sometimes without even upgrading the firmware) will let you do that too through the use of the dynamic dns client. Now, how much would you pay?

Can i put this firmware onto a linksys befw11s4? (standard linksys wireless router about 4-5 years old)

If not what linksyst router would this work on since i'm considering getting a gigabit wireless G/N router with VPN anyway.

Take a look here: http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_Devices . DD-Wrt is my choice for the firmware. OpenWrt is very nice as well but lacks the web interface (if I recall correctly). As for devices, my preference is the Linksys WRT-54GL. Note the L on the end... it will ensure that the firmware will load with out a hassle. Other version of the WRT-54G will work too, but some have very limited memory which makes the install more difficult and also limits functionality. The limited functionality, in practice, is rarely an issue. These things pack a lot in and even the stripped down versions of the firmware do more than what you get out of the box from linksys. All versions support the dns/dhcp functions you are looking for.