Get Linux To Update /etc/hosts Dynamically

Veldrin

Hi Everybody,

I know the title isn't ideal, but I don't really what I am looking for... I general I want to be able to connect to other computers in my local network by just using there hostnames. If I would use static IP-addresses I could just add them to /etc/hosts, but - alas - I am using DHCP, and to make the whole thing a bit more complicated, I have diffent IP-ranges at home and in my students home where I normally stay. Windoze somehow manages to be able to get computernames(hostnames) assosiated to IP-addresses, or at least that is how it seams. Somehow I got Windoze to accept the name I gave to my notebook and I could ping it directly (via {nis,wins,*}hostname)...
My Question in general is, is the same possible for Linux, or do I need a running server - which I currently to have at hand. I had a look to BIND which seamed firstly what I was looking for, but the deeper I got the more it became useless.

I hope I made myself clear of what I am looking for... Otherwise just ask, I try to explain in other words...

Greets
V.

NeddySeagoon · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 3:23 pm Post subject:

Veldrin,

If the name of the host you are looking for is not in /etc/hosts, then the dhcp server should provide its IP and it Just Works. When dhcp is in use you should only have a minimal hosts file.
_________________
Regards,

NeddySeagoon

Computer users fall into two groups:-
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those that have never had a hard drive fail.

Cosmin · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 3:33 pm Post subject:

You should have samba working on the gentoo boxes. This way you'll be able to 'ping' them by name.
_________________
"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it." - Brian W. Kernighan

Veldrin · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 3:44 pm Post subject:

@Seagoon: I know that /etc/hosts isn't the solution... but I need some way to get myself clear what I ment. And my /etc/hosts is as minimal as it could be...

@Cosmin: I do have samba installed, and I works from windoze. But I want to do the same from Linux, which i currently cannot - unless I misconfigured something...

nobspangle · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 5:20 pm Post subject:

you need to configure nsswitch.conf I think you just need to have

dannysauer · n00b Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 60 Location: Lincoln, IL

What do you mean by "connect to other computers"? Do you just want to use SMB shares, or do you want to do something else? Are the other computers under your control, or no? How are you getting the names of these computers? This will help find you a solution...

Veldrin · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 5:48 pm Post subject:

@noobspangle: I checked the entry in nsswitch.conf and added wins... Unfortunately I dont have another linux box around to test it...

@dannysauer: Yes there are: my notebook (my main workstation) and Linux File server (mainly samba)
It's mainly samba, and ssh for administrating my samba server. I played a bit with nfs, and I think I use it to get acces to my files server....

I do have to admit, although I use DHCP my IP-addresses are more or less static...

My first though was to create a wins db on linux... but in general I'd like to stay in linux-only stuff (i.e. use nfs instead of samba, etc...). I hope you get the idea.

Greets
V.

PS. I am terribly sorry for the confusion, but I sometimes get lost in unsignificant details... :roll:

[edit:]typo

dannysauer · n00b Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 60 Location: Lincoln, IL

If you have control over the machines, why don't you just set up a DNS server and set the machines to update DNS when they get their DHCP address?

http://www.mattfoster.clara.co.uk/ddns.htm, and Google for "dynamic dns" would probably help. Sure, it's overkill, but you're running Linux, and Linux users generally know that overkill is just barely enough.

BTW, CIFS is not a windows thing, I'm pretty sure it was an OS/2 thing. If you use CIFS (not SMB) and samba for file sharing, you'll have fewer problems with timeouts and the like, and you can still get *nix permissions et. al. Properly tuned NFS will have better performance (over UDP on a local network), but CIFS is pretty close, and much more fault tolerant. I think that'd be the better choice for you, given that you're using a laptop... Samba's more "linux" than NFS anyway, IMHO.

Cosmin · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 8:29 am Post subject:

Veldrin, all you need is samba. As long as it's working, you WILL be able to acces the linux boxes by name (instead of IP). That's all you need (if I undertand you correctly).
Moreover, you said you move your linux box from one network to another, changing the IP address ranges (DHCP or static, no matter). In this case, please check that your IP is the correct one. I mean, check to see if you get a correct IP from the DHCP server, check to see if the static address (if any) is correct. Be aware that you CANNOT acces a network if your netmask is 255.255.255.255 (for example).
_________________
"Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it." - Brian W. Kernighan