DNS entries

[lujop]

Is it possible to define some DNS names like .local to be able to use for local network devices?

[MichaelP]

Hello @lujop 

The ".local" domain is typically used by multicast DNS (mDNS) to resolve names on a local area network without a centralized DNS server. It should "just work" for machines that support mDNS (all macOS machines, most Linux machines, and even to some degree Windows machines). I certainly rely on mDNS resolution of ".local" names on my network of mixed machines around here.

In addition, Google / Nest WiFi also includes support for resolving some host names using the ".lan" domain. This is done using the DNS resolver running on the Google / Nest WiFi router itself. The host name part can be a little hard to figure out, since it's based on the DHCP name the device requested. 

So, if neither of these methods fits the bill, you may need to look into running your own local DNS server on yet another domain name. You'd need to then configure Google / Nest WiFi to forward all DNS requests to that server, which would need to be carefully configured to resolve the requests it is responsible for, and forward the rest out to a public server (like one run by Google or Cloudflare). I can't help with most of that, but I do run a DNS-over-HTTPS proxy on my local network and I have my Google WiFi system configured to send all DNS requests to it. 

I hope some of this helps.

[lujop]

Thank you it worked well for names without spaces.

Do you know if there is some information about how spaces or other characters are translated?

[MichaelP]

It looks like, for at least some devices, the spaces are replaced with a single dash/hyphen (-). But, that ended up being hit-or-miss for the devices on my network. It worked for some, but not for others. I don't think it honors any name change you make in the Google WiFi or Google Home apps, so it would be based on what that device said its name was in the original DHCP request.

[Jeff]

Hey, lujop.

I just wanted to follow up real fast to see if we were able to get this sorted out or if you needed more help. If there's more we can do for you, please let us know.

Thanks!

[Jeff]

Hi, everyone.

As we haven't had any activity here recently I'm going to go ahead and close the thread. If you have more to add, feel free to start a new discussion.

Thanks