Re: Name resolution

[Kevin Colby <kevinc grainsystems com>]

Jim Reynolds wrote:
>
> I could not ping by name from any of the machines.  I was trying
> to use DNS, so I removed the DNS info and now can ping by name
> from the linux box (server) only.

Correct.  Using hosts files means that you need a copy of the
file on every machine.  Only machines that have the file will
be able to look up names.
 
> When is it appropriate to use DNS?

DNS does the same job as the hosts file, but over the network.
This means updating is simpler, because only the DNS server
needs to be changed.

Windows can be pointed to a DNS server in the Network Control
Panel's TCP/IP properties.  Setting up a DNS server on Linux
("named") is covered in HOWTOs and very thoroughly in the
O'Reilly _DNS_&_Bind_ (a must-read anyone doing this
professionally).

Whether you use hosts files or DNS is a choice between a
slightly more complex system that is easier to maintain (DNS)
and a much simpler system that is a pain if you change things
a lot (hosts).  You decide.

	- Kevin Colby
	  kevinc grainsystems com