[ghporter]

So what is the difference? Is it just an entry in a hosts file, in a routing table, or something else?

[reader50]

IP routing: enter 192.168.1.33 and you are sent to 192.168.1.33
LAN hostname routing: enter 'printer.local' (or whatever you've called it) and you are sent to 192.168.1.33

ie - allows you to give plain-language names to your LAN addresses. So you don't have to remember the numbers. To do this, you need a router that can set local DNS entries. Cheap routers won't be able - you'll need a fancy router, or a business-class router.

I've never tried to do this - but it shouldn't be hard. Just don't create a local override that conflicts with an address on the wider internet. Pointing 'google.com' to your media server, will force you to use alternative search engines on the wider internet. Since google wouldn't be reachable. That, or watch a movie every time you want to search for something. When the movie's over, you may have forgotten what you'd planned to search for. Problem solved.

[ghporter]

“Glenns-iMac.local” works across my LAN, which is based on a (very old, 4th gen) Airport Extreme. I don’t see any entries in my iPad’s routing table for that hostname. Is Apple using some special magic in my old router, or is this Apple stuff “just working,” or what?

Full disclosure: I DID try to research this. I got stuff about finding hosts on Vanderbilt’s LAN and similar results, but nothing about a small-scale LAN.

[reader50]

Sorry, I don't have those answers. Never owned an Apple router. It does sound like Apple added a local DNS entry to the AE, so things "just work".

[Waragainstsleep]

Glenns-iMac.local is set within that iMac, you can edit it by changing the computer name under the Sharing pane of the System Prefs or its equivalent under Ventura or later. The fact that other devices on the network can resolve it is down to the Bonjour local network discovery protocol which is indeed a case of Apple stuff "just working".

You can edit the hosts file on each Mac if you wish but its probably not the best bet. The other way to do it is to set up your own DNS server. I've only ever done that with Mac OS Server (you're gonna want an old one, probably Snow Leopard) or you could do it with a any box running a BIND service I think. Then you set the IP of your internal DNS server as the network DNS server issued via DHCP by your router.

[ghporter]

Ahhh. Bonjour does it! That’s the missing piece of the puzzle. Thanks!

[Brien]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Glenns-iMac.local is set within that iMac, you can edit it by changing the computer name under the Shamring pane of the System Prefs or its equivalent under Ventura or later. The fact that other devices on the network can resolve it is down to the Bonjour local network discovery protocol which is indeed a case of Apple stuff "just working".

You can edit the hosts file on each Mac if you wish but its probably not the best bet. The other way to do it is to set up your own DNS server. I've only ever done that with Mac OS Server (you're gonna want an old one, probably Snow Leopard) or you could do it with a any box running a BIND service I think. Then you set the IP of your internal DNS server as the network DNS server issued via DHCP by your router.

Wonder if it’d work with a PiHole.

[ghporter]

My Linux machine, in which I installed a Linux-flavor of Bonjour to connect to networked printers, also sees my Macs as “Glens-iMac.local”, etc. So if the computer has a Bonjour app/implementation, I think it should work.

[Waragainstsleep]

Originally Posted by Brien 

Wonder if it’d work with a PiHole.

I've never used one but I assume they are running as local DNS servers in order to intercept ad traffic.

Originally Posted by ghporter 

My Linux machine, in which I installed a Linux-flavor of Bonjour to connect to networked printers, also sees my Macs as “Glens-iMac.local”, etc. So if the computer has a Bonjour app/implementation, I think it should work.

It got installed on Windows machines alongside iTunes.