aliasnetworkingwindows
I would like to set an alias on my local PC for a network machine. I know that it can be done by adding an entry in the hosts file as long as the IP address of the machine is also specified. However, the problem is that IPs are dynamically assigned by a DHCP server so I don't know for sure the IP address. Is there a way to define just an alias based on the machine's network name?
P.S.: I'm running Windows Server 2008 R2.
I'm not a network expert, and I'm also researching a LOT for answers in this topic. My current findings are:
Windows uses NetBIOS names, and such protocol, being a broadcast one, allows them to find each other without any central server.
Linux machines in modern distros uses natively a protocol called Avahi, which is also a server-independent, broadcast protocol. Local network machines have a suffix .local, so you can ping from Linux to Linux using ping hostname.local, or see them with avahi-discover package. some apps in Gnome use avahi to list machines in the network (for example, the Remote Desktop Viewer)
Installing SAMBA on a Linux machine will assign it a NetBIOS name (or, more technically, will make a Linux machine advertise itself in broadcast requests with their NetBIOS name, which is by default their hostname), and that allows Windows machines to find the Linux ones.
Gotcha: Although Linux machines with Samba will reply to NetBIOS protocol requests, with default settings in distros like Ubuntu it won't use NetBIOS as a method to resolve names, and that's why Linux machines can't "see" each other or the Windows machines. For that, you need to edit /etc/nsswitch.conf file and add wins to the list in this line:
hosts: files mdns4_minimal [NOTFOUND=return] dns wins mdns4
You may need to install winbind (and, if not installed automatically, libnss-winbind) package for the above to work.
So, for the visibility issue, you either install Samba on all Linux machines (and also edit /etc/nsswitch.conf to enable NetBIOS name resolution), or you install Avahi support in Windows machines.
As for file sharing, Samba provides Linux machines file-sharing capabilities with Windows. Theres no need to edit /etc/nsswitch.conf for Linux machines to see shared folders of each other and Windows (and vice-versa) in the "Network" section of Nautilus
I hope this helped! :D
Best Answer
Windows only supports IP to Hostname mapping. You cannot set up local aliases using the hosts file.
If you have control over the DNS for the network, you can create a CNAME record that maps one name to another name.
If you do not have control over the network's DNS - you are out of clean options (barring a frankensteined DNS server running on your localhost just for the creation of your own CNAMEs. shudders)