Some routers (like the Fritz!Box) provide DNS names for all computers in a network – based on the computer names.
For example, in my network I have a Windows computer called Beeblebrox and a Linux computer called Marvin. They can be reached by name through beeblebrox.fritz.box
and marvin.fritz.box
respectively.
When I’m on my Linux computer I can just type ping beeblebrox
and will ping my Windows computer.
When I’m on my Windows computer on the other hand, this doesn’t work – at least not out of the box.
C:\Users\manski>ping marvin Ping request could not find host marvin. Please check the name and try again.
To make this work, …
- go the Control Panel, then System.
- In the left sidebar click on Advanced system settings.
- The dialog “System Properties” will open. Choose the tab Computer Name and click on Change….
- The dialog “Computer Name/Domain Changes” will open. Here, click on More…
- Enter the DNS suffix in the box.
-
Confirm all dialogs with “OK” and restart the computer afterwards.
Now you can ping/identify any computer on the same network by using just its name:
C:\Users\manski>ping marvin Pinging marvin.fritz.box [192.168.42.5] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 192.168.42.5: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64 Reply from 192.168.42.5: bytes=32 time=2ms TTL=64