[Dnsmasq-discuss] Why doesn't this machine name get propagated round my LAN?

[Simon Kelley]

On 08/05/12 09:40, Chris Green wrote:
> I have dnsmasq version 2.52 running on an Ubuntu server machine on our
> home LAN.
> 
> At the bottom of /etc/dnsmasq.conf I have the following:-
> 
>     dhcp-host=00:90:a9:70:06:ff,backup
>     dhcp-host=40:61:86:98:f2:41,chris
>     dhcp-host=00:04:4b:07:13:30,ben
>     local=/zbmc.eu/
> 
> The machines backup is a Western Digital NAS that runs Linux, chris is
> my desktop machine running xubuntu and ben is my son's games machine
> running Windows Vista.
> 
> I can refer to 'backup' and 'chris' by name OK:-
> 
>     chris at dps:/etc$ host backup
>     backup.zbmc.eu has address 192.168.1.88
>     chris at dps:/etc$ host chris
>     chris.zbmc.eu has address 192.168.1.4
>     chris at dps:/etc$ 
> 
> but not 'ben':-
> 
>     chris at dps:/etc$ host ben.zbmc.eu
>     Host ben.zbmc.eu not found: 3(NXDOMAIN)
> 
> What am I doing wrong?  The MAC address is right:-
> 
>     root at chris:~# arp-scan -l
>     Interface: eth0, datalink type: EN10MB (Ethernet)
>     Starting arp-scan 1.8.1 with 256 hosts (http://www.nta-monitor.com/tools/arp-scan/)
>     192.168.1.1 00:50:7f:8b:35:40       DrayTek Corp.
>     192.168.1.2 00:01:6c:6c:c7:9b       FOXCONN
>     192.168.1.6 00:04:4b:07:13:30       NVIDIA
>     192.168.1.88        00:90:a9:70:06:ff       WESTERN DIGITAL
>     192.168.1.137       00:04:20:26:55:19       Slim Devices, Inc.
>     192.168.1.145       08:00:27:24:d0:9c       CADMUS COMPUTER SYSTEMS
>     192.168.1.129       00:01:e3:9d:8b:b5       Siemens AG
> 
> 
> The NVIDIA machine is 'ben'.
> 
> Is it because 'ben' has a static IP and thus dnsmasq isn't setting its
> address? 

Probably. dhcp-host provides information which dnsmasq uses when it
gives out a DHCP lease. If the host doesn't have a DHCP lease, the name
won't go into the DNS.

If so how do I get dnsmasq to provide DNS lookup for 'ben'?

Put 'ben' in /etc/hosts. Dnsmasq reads names/addresses from there too,
independently of the DHCP subsystem.


HTH

Simon.

>