Simple routing quesiton

[Paddy]

yeah, but if i browse to the domain within the LAN, the hosts file redirects me to the server IP. If i browse to the domain outside the LAN, the hosts file redirects me to the server which is hidden behind NAT. I could always map to the router's IP and wait for the port to be forwarded, but i'd have similar problems with name resolution...

[Wombat]

right.. so if i need to access my site from outside the LAN, then i will need to change the hosts file, as NAT will prevent me from accessing the IP directly...

No, you should be fine. DNS points, basically, to your router right now. If your router statically forwards the appropriate ports to your "server" in your LAN, then that's all that's needed. Static port forwarding will avoid the potential for NAT confusion.

[schmosef]

Yeah, I think you may be over thinking this, Paddy.

[Paddy]

but doesn't the hosts file overwrite dns?

[Liquid Snake]

I think what Paddy is trying to ask is, how is he going to access the server from the WAN (Internet) using the domain name if the hosts file is pointing to the server's internal IP (probably a non-routeable IP like 192.168.1.10)?

[schmosef]

erm, perhaps there's some complexity to Paddy's config that I'm not understanding.

If internet DNS resolution is working on the WAN side of the router (ie, the Internet), the Hosts file entry isn't required. So PCs outside of Paddy's LAN don't need the Hosts file entry.

The Hosts file entry is only required for PCs on the LAN side of the router, where you want to override the true DNS resolution (which points to your router) with the internal IP address (the IP of the server on the LAN).

[agallag]

The only time you'd have a problem with the hosts file would be if you had a laptop that was sometimes behind the router, and sometimes outside on the internet coming in. In that case, you'd have to swap the hosts file in and out depending on where you're connecting from. If your computers stay put, you'll have no trouble.

[spadnos]

Just to clarify - the hosts file only affects DNS lookups for the computer the hosts file is on. So, if you take a machine from your LAN, and connect it outside your LAN (say, you bring a laptop to work), and try to browse to the web server, it won't work.

- Steve

[Wombat]

Yes. The hosts file is like a cheat sheet that takes precedence over DNS lookups, ONLY for the computer it's on.

[Paddy]

s'ok guys you've hit it.
I will be using a laptop both inside and outside the LAN.
The server has a valid IP address, but is hidden behind NAT.
So I would need to update the DNS entries according to where the laptop was physically located.