Register linux host with static IP dynamically in Windows DNS

Hi

I have read many discussions about registering Linux hosts in a
windows environment, so that they can be found by DNS queries. Each of
them told to use a dhcp client. But I have a static IP.

I know it is possible: my windows machine also has static IP, is NOT
member of the Domain and still registered itself in DNS few days ago
when I changed its IP. Unfortunately i don't know which protocol it
used, but there is an option in Windows' network settings for
registering the host automatically.

Who knows which protocol it uses for this behavior and how to do the
same in linux?

I tries nsupdate but only get answers like "not allowed", "not
found", .. - but again, windows computers can do it..

Daniel Alder

Daniel Alder <(E-Mail Removed)> writes:
>
> I have read many discussions about registering Linux hosts in a
> windows environment, so that they can be found by DNS queries. Each of
> them told to use a dhcp client. But I have a static IP.
>
> I know it is possible: my windows machine also has static IP, is NOT
> member of the Domain and still registered itself in DNS few days ago
> when I changed its IP. Unfortunately i don't know which protocol it
> used, but there is an option in Windows' network settings for
> registering the host automatically.
>
> Who knows which protocol it uses for this behavior and how to do the
> same in linux?
>
> I tries nsupdate but only get answers like "not allowed", "not
> found", .. - but again, windows computers can do it..

Answers from who or what? nsupdate should certainly be able to do it.

But why do you want to? I like the fact that all my computers' IP
addresses are maintained on a central server, and I don't need to mess
with anything on the individual hosts to do things like shuffle IP
addresses. You say "I have a static IP" -- well, from my perspective,
that's the problem you actually need to be fixing.

Daniel Alder wrote:

> Hi
>
> I have read many discussions about registering Linux hosts in a
> windows environment, so that they can be found by DNS queries.
> Each of them told to use a dhcp client. But I have a static IP.

You need DHCP to automatically assign IP, route and DNS
information. You easily can assign hosts fixed IP addresses by
DHCP, based on the interface's MAC address.

> I know it is possible: my windows machine also has static IP,
> is NOT member of the Domain and still registered itself in DNS
> few days ago when I changed its IP. Unfortunately i don't know
> which protocol it used, but there is an option in Windows'
> network settings for registering the host automatically.

What you're referring to is probably NetBIOS/WINS. This works
independently from DNS, but Windows (unfortunately) queries both
in the resolver. But it is _not_ DNS!

> Who knows which protocol it uses for this behavior and how to
> do the same in linux?

Run a DNS server, ideally together with a forwarding cache. And
make your Windows and Linux machines using that one.

> I tries nsupdate but only get answers like "not allowed", "not
> found", .. - but again, windows computers can do it..

Yes, because you're not allowed to update foreign DNS servers,
and also most DNS servers are configured not to accept nsupdate
(it's a security risk). Probably you've configured your ISP's
DNS caches as resolvers, which don't accept updates anyway.

Running your own DNS server is simple, if you use the right
program. I recommend using djbdns: It's easy to configure and
quite powerfull.
http://cr.yp.to/djbdns.html

You're probably interested in the following documents:

Forward non local DNS requests to your ISP's servers, but local
requests to the local DNS server:
http://cr.yp.to/djbdns/run-cache-x-home.html

Setting up the DNS server itself:
http://cr.yp.to/djbdns/run-server.html

And, if you don't have a fully qualified domain (FQD), how to
choose proper local names:
http://cr.yp.to/djbdns/dot-local.html

Note, that it's easy enough to get a FQD using a service like
DynDNS, you could for example register a DynDNS host called,
example.dyndns.org and internally treat that as subdomain; as
long as you don't need your local hostnames being resolved
externally, it's just fine. You're using the DynDNS to claim
some namespace.

Wolfgang Draxinger
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