What do people use for DNS at home?

[usao]

My router works ok, and I can assign MAC addresses to specific IPs, but I still have to enter all the IP addresses on each box manually. How do most users get around this issue?
I don't want to remember all the IP's of everything in the house, but my wireless router doesn't offer any DNS.
Looking for options.

 

[sfx2000]

My router works ok, and I can assign MAC addresses to specific IPs, but I still have to enter all the IP addresses on each box manually. How do most users get around this issue?

You might be putting more work than you need - unless you're running servers or whatever on those nodes, it's not really needed.

I don't want to remember all the IP's of everything in the house, but my wireless router doesn't offer any DNS.
Looking for options.

Most SOHO routers actually do have a DNS server built into them - most common is DNSmasq - which acts as a caching DNS proxy for the upstream DNS servers - most often from your ISP, but some routers do offer the option to override this on the WAN side (some offer to do this also for the LAN).

 

[sfx2000]

And in many cases - DNSmasq is also the DHCP server for the LAN...

 

[System Error Message]

if you have a DNS server on the router simply enter some static entries of your own. For this to also work you have to force all devices to use your router's DNS, this can be done from the NAT firewall but some routers save you the trouble by giving you a checkbox for this feature. It usually is used in parental controls to avoid the kids from seeing things you dont want them to see on the net.

 

[usao]

I have a lot of traffic between the different nodes in the house. I have about 15 machines which are all running 24/7, and need to keep host files up to date on all of them because of no DNS.
It's all internal traffic, no need for external access at this time. Mostly database and application servers as well as a number of mining rigs.
The mining rigs are controlled by the app/database servers.
I had to swap out my router over the weekend, and ALL of the fricking addresses changed, which drove me crazy with hours of work updating all the addresses everywhere.
I don't see why the router doesn't provide that functionality. Are there router brands/models which do support internal DNS?

 

[ColinTaylor]

Are there router brands/models which do support internal DNS?

Yes, just about every home router I've ever seen! Take your pick.

From what you've said (no internet access) I'm guessing your router really is "just a router", whereas a lot of us here would have combination wireless router/internet gateway device. Such devices typically have a LAN switch, WAN port, wireless access point, firewall, DHCP server, DNS server and possibly other functionality.

What is the make/model of the router you are currently using?

 

[MichaelCG]

Most "consumer" based routers will let you tie a hostname to the DHCP reservation which in turn is usually included in DNS.

I run pfSense on an old HP desktop which has this feature. Technically, if you aren't using the WAN port, you aren't routing. You are just using the switch and the DHCP server on the device. If you are already running servers, you could easily bring up a DHCP and DNS server on one and forget about using an actual router device.

If you have any VM capabilities, look at running pfSense, OPNsense, or the Sophos UTM instead. They will provide more flexibility and customization options.....or even just any Linux box will the proper daemons installed and configured.

 

[usao]

I should clarify. It's not "all" internal, but what I was referring to was that the traffic between most of the nodes is internal. I make use of an RT-AC68P router at home. This handles the traffic for the db/app servers as well as the miners and other household stuff such as my laptop, TV and other stuff. So, I should have been more clear, sorry about that.
The miners specifically are configured to talk to the internet, while my back-end servers are "able" to talk to the internet, they do not do so regularly, only for such activity as NTP and occasional lookups.
As for DHCP reservation, I can (and have) entered static internal IP addresses for relevant MAC addresses, but it will not accept "names", only "IP" addresses.
So, while I have managed to get my machines to use static IP from the router based on their MAC, I still want to make use of hostnames rather than IP addresses.
I suppose I could "create" my own DNS server (never done that before, don't know how currently). I was still wondering why the router doesn't provide this functionality in the first place.
I also have a Qnap, do they support a DNS server for internal use? They use quirky names for services, so I didn't recognize anything which looked like DNS.

So, do most people just use IP addresses when they go between machines in their network or do they setup their own DNS?

 

[ColinTaylor]

I have an RT-AC68U (which is the same as the RT-AC68P) and it does have a built-in DNS server. I can assign host names to any of my devices. I'm running a fork of Merlin's version of the firmware, so it's possible the menu options are slightly different if you're running stock firmware.

I believe in more recent firmware versions you can assign hostnames from the Network Map as well.

EDIT: I've just checked and the "Name" field on the DHCP reservation list is an addition that Merlin put into his firmware.

 

[System Error Message]

@RMerlin , getting his firmware to the same level as mikrotik routerOS, pfsense and ubiquiti. He still does have some ways to go but at least it lets you make full use of your asus router hardware.

Loads of routers have their own DNS server however for your own internal DNS to work you have to intercept DNS requests not bound to your router. Google chrome for instance is hard coded to use google DNS and so do android phones. windows phones are hard coded to use bing and apple phones are hard coded to use their own provider too. Even other device such as tv boxes can be hard coded to use a specific DNS provider. So for your DNS network to work you have to intercept DNS requests and redirect them to your router. This is done with iptables or in some routers the NAT firewall. Some routers provide this feature via a checkbox but call it something else.

One of the reasons why the device is hard coded for a particular DNS server is for commercialisation, to make that problem page appear without putting it into the device itself, to avoid networks that have their DNS rerouted to an attacker for instance but hardcoding a DNS server doesnt help with security despite what some thinks since if somewhere on the network DNS requests are being redirected than a hard coded DNS server wont help.

Many consumer routers do have their own internal DNS servers even tp link. A lot of recent routers will tell you to just enter a domain in your browser rather than ip address to get to your router. This is clear proof of a router having its own DNS server or cache with static entries. All you need for a DNS server is very little processing power and a few MB of ram for the cache.

 

[usao]

I don't have this "Name" field in my DHCP reservation list.
Is this "Merlin" you refer to some other firmware other than the ASUS firmware?
Where can I find out more about this?

 

[microchip]

I don't have this "Name" field in my DHCP reservation list.
Is this "Merlin" you refer to some other firmware other than the ASUS firmware?
Where can I find out more about this?

https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/

 

[usao]

Thanks, ill give that a try and see if it solves my issues.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I don't have this "Name" field in my DHCP reservation list.
Is this "Merlin" you refer to some other firmware other than the ASUS firmware?
Where can I find out more about this?

And the dedicated SNB forum is here: https://www.snbforums.com/forums/asuswrt-merlin.42/

 

[coxhaus]

Where ever you setup local DNS you need to make sure all the local nodes point to your DNS. Your DNS will resolve all you local DNS names and forward out to the internet for names not known locally. Most routers have a way to accomplish this. If you run a Microsoft server you can add DNS to it.

 

[usao]

Ok, after further testing, I found that I can assign a "name" to a MAC address and have that be a static IP, however, the hosts still cannot resolve the "name" to the IP.
There must be a missing step somewhere.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Your hosts need to be configured (usually through DHCP) to use the router as their DNS server, then it should work.

C:\Users\Colin>nslookup
Default Server:  router.asus.com
Address:  192.168.1.1

> zen
Server:  router.asus.com
Address:  192.168.1.1

Name:    zen.home.lan
Address:  192.168.1.238

 

[tompaah]

I use my Synology NAS for DNS internally, since it's always on and ready. It has a ready made package for DNS services. Easy to install and maintain.

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