Koozali.org: home of the SME Server
Legacy Forums => Experienced User Forum => Topic started by: FreakWent on January 29, 2004, 08:57:11 AM
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Do I need WINS here? A win 9x client called FRED uses DHCP to get an IP, and FRED and BILL can talk win9x to each otehr happy, can talk to server happy happy joy.
server:
bash$ ping fred
ping: unknown host fred
but of course if fred is 192.168.0.67 then ping 192.168.0.67 works fine...
Can anyone tell me what I have to do to make e-smith understand the [smb?] hostnames of it's DHCP clients? I have LOOKED and ASKED in many places and I get "use static ip and /etc/hosts" as a reply all the time...
Thanks!
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In server-manager go to the 'Hostnames and addresses' panel, create a new host entry for each machine on the network, assign an IP address outside the DHCP range to each host, I also enter the Ethernet addresses.
Renew the DHCP leases for each machine or wait 24 hours for then to renew automatically.
You can now ping the host names.
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Thankyou for your help, and I understand the security benefitd of this method, however:
It makes more work when new machines are added to the LAN.
It makes more work if a win 9x machine has it's name changed.
I want this to be automatic -- perhaps I have to resort to a script which executes on the windows PC and tells the server what the hostname/address is.
Look at it this way -- I don't have to tell the windows clients all about each other, they figure it out on their own, how can I get the server to do the same thing using Samba?
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Check that you have the workgroup name configured in your esmith server (via esmith-manager > configuration > workgoup).
-- doc
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I think that Bob has the only answer. The ping command from the SME box doesn't go anywhere near samba, so even if the samba WINS proxy is enabled (and I think that it is by default), you won't get what you are after. The only other way would be to have the DHCP server update a dynamic hosts file or DNS server.
Barry
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Barry,
Thanks for helping, I know it's hard to help someone who refuses all advice...
OK, I can't add samba/netbios to the name resolution setup, that's fine. You say that the only other way would be to have the DHCP server update a dynamic hosts file or DNS server.
Firstly, doesn't e-smith run just such a DNS server? I look in the DHCP logs and there are no client hostnames, so wouldn't I need some software on the clinets?
Secondly, I'm unsure why this is not regarded as a a shortcoming in e-smith, or even linux in general. The reasons for DNS on the internet also exist when talking to my local LAN -- I don't want to manually update a hosts file, or to memorise all the names/addresses.
I want to [see if I can] use hostnames in the firewall rules, the ssh tunnels and so on. I know LNW (linux is not windows) but something like e-smith is at least partly designed as a drop-in replacement for a windows server on a windows LAN.
Thanks in advance!