4 ms·

Read the article. Don’t use .local (except for mDNS.)

by d2wa 5y ago

ASalazarMX 5y ago
Now it's evident I answered reflexively without reading the article. I like the concept of <server>.<location>.local/localdomain so host names never collided when you connected through VPN from one to another. That can still be done with <server>.<location>.home.arpa, but it feels ugly. I guess I'll get used to it.
mattowen_uk 5y ago
> Don’t use .local (except for mDNS.) Going forward, I agree. However for many years, the recommendation from large providers (including Microsoft) WAS to use .local I've got .local as my internal network. For some people, it's not a trivial job to re-domain everything.
- willis936 5y ago
  If your L2 DNS (hostnames, typically auto-generated) doesn't match your L3 DNS (handpicked) you're going to eventually have a Bad Time.
- d2wa 5y ago
  Microsoft had .corp as a placeholder for years, intending admins to input their own domains. (Which many promptly never did.) However, I'm not aware of them ever recommending or using .local for anything.
  - k12sosse 5y ago
    SBS (Small Business Server) pushed .local for YEARS.
wellthisishn 5y ago
They don't give a reason. I don't believe the author. I think it will not only technically work fine, but it's a good idea and better than using what the author suggests.
- WorldMaker 5y ago
  They do give a reason: mDNS is a standard that was assigned .local. mDNS is useful for a number of reasons. (One of its original codenames was "Bonjour" if that helps connect the dots on how old mDNS is at this point.) It's not worth the effort to break mDNS because lots of apps can use mDNS, it's a useful standard. In fact, in many LANs today (on modern operating systems inc. relatively recent versions of Windows 10 as Microsoft was one of the last to adopt mDNS) mDNS does almost everything people would want DNS to do in LAN scope anyway and you could get away with not assigning any local DNS and just using mDNS services.

Read the article. Don’t use .local (except for mDNS.)

by d2wa 5y ago

Read the article. Don’t use .local (except for mDNS.)

Now it's evident I answered reflexively without reading the article. I like the concept of <server>.<location>.local/localdomain so host names never collided when you connected through VPN from one to another. That can still be done with <server>.<location>.home.arpa, but it feels ugly. I guess I'll get used to it.

mattowen_uk 5y ago

> Don’t use .local (except for mDNS.) Going forward, I agree. However for many years, the recommendation from large providers (including Microsoft) WAS to use .local I've got .local as my internal network. For some people, it's not a trivial job to re-domain everything.

willis936 5y ago
If your L2 DNS (hostnames, typically auto-generated) doesn't match your L3 DNS (handpicked) you're going to eventually have a Bad Time.
d2wa 5y ago
Microsoft had .corp as a placeholder for years, intending admins to input their own domains. (Which many promptly never did.) However, I'm not aware of them ever recommending or using .local for anything.
- k12sosse 5y ago
  SBS (Small Business Server) pushed .local for YEARS.

wellthisishn 5y ago

They don't give a reason. I don't believe the author. I think it will not only technically work fine, but it's a good idea and better than using what the author suggests.

WorldMaker 5y ago
They do give a reason: mDNS is a standard that was assigned .local. mDNS is useful for a number of reasons. (One of its original codenames was "Bonjour" if that helps connect the dots on how old mDNS is at this point.) It's not worth the effort to break mDNS because lots of apps can use mDNS, it's a useful standard. In fact, in many LANs today (on modern operating systems inc. relatively recent versions of Windows 10 as Microsoft was one of the last to adopt mDNS) mDNS does almost everything people would want DNS to do in LAN scope anyway and you could get away with not assigning any local DNS and just using mDNS services.