local dns server should check hosts file, or similar

[ralph1973]

Hello,
I have running a mailserver. When I am in my house, I want hosts on my (wifi) network connect to the local ip adress of my server instead of the internet address. So dns should reply with the local ip.
I did set up a local dns server (bind9), and when wifi clients request my mailserver address, it replies with the public ip. How can I have my dns server reply with the LOCAL mailserver ip instead of the public one?

Kind regards,
Ralph Willemsen
Arnhem, Netherlands

[TheFu]

Hello,
I have running a mailserver. When I am in my house, I want hosts on my (wifi) network connect to the local ip adress of my server instead of the internet address. So dns should reply with the local ip.
I did set up a local dns server (bind9), and when wifi clients request my mailserver address, it replies with the public ip. How can I have my dns server reply with the LOCAL mailserver ip instead of the public one?

Do your wifi clients have the correct DNS server listed first in their /etc/resolv.conf? Order matters. Is your local DNS server "authoritative?"

Running a local bind on a PC might be considered overkill for stuff like this. Any router that supports dd-wrt or similar firmwares can usually run a DNS server easily, provide static IP reservations for portable devices via DHCP and give a central place to manage host names for every machine on the network. There are hundreds of how-to articles on the internet. http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php...etwork_-_HOWTO is one.

Regardless, also check your /etc/nsswitch.conf on the machine running bind. Bind is one of the few programs that I needed to buy a book to understand and after reading just 6 pages in the O'Reilly book, I was able to solve my issues. At the time. I thought, it was the best book ever written to be able to solve my complex issues so quickly.

Based on your question, I suspect that you've already checked the things I've said. Do you have any other diagnostic data to share?