On Sun, Jan 23, 2022 at 07:09:27PM +0000, Brian wrote: > On Sun 23 Jan 2022 at 13:53:01 -0500, gene heskett wrote: > > > On Sunday, January 23, 2022 1:26:56 PM EST Felix Miata wrote: > > > Greg Wooledge composed on 2022-01-23 08:42 (UTC-0500): > > > > On Sun, Jan 23, 2022 at 08:50:56AM +0100, Andrei POPESCU wrote: > > > >> As far as I can tell (with my limited understanding of DNS) it only > > > >> makes it easier to share /etc/hosts with no obvious downside. > > > > > > > > If that actually works, that's great news for Gene. It means he can > > > > duplicate a single /etc/hosts file across all systems without needing > > > > to bolt on a unique per-system header afterward. > > > > > > I've been sharing the very same hosts file among all my PCs for well > > > over a decade, probably closer to two. > > > > And I have been for 2 decades and change as it once had an amiga as one > > of its clients. > > What advice would you give to a user regarding the benefits of a hosts > file as opposed to more modern techniques?
I'll treat this question as "static interface configuration and hosts files". The advantage is that it's conceptually simpler. The disadvantages are numerous. * Adding a new host, or changing a host's IP address, requires platform-specific knowledge on the host in question. On a heterogeneous network, that means you need knowledge of how to do this on all the different platforms. This may include devices like printers, where it's quite difficult, maybe even impossible, to configure an address without DHCP. * After a change is made, it has to be replicated across your entire network. Manually. * Any "visitor" machines that are temporarily added to your network will need to be configured manually, and they will have zero knowledge of the other hosts on the network. Even if you know their names, there won't be any DNS in which you can look up their addresses. For anyone setting up a new home network, I'd recommend using DHCP. It will be a lot simpler in the long run, especially if you start adding wireless devices (cell phones, tablets, TV streaming devices, etc.). Your router probably already acts as a DHCP server, so all you need to do is learn how to configure fixed addresses for specific computers (and printers) that want to act like servers. The other devices can just get random addresses. Guest machines can just be connected and start working without issues.
