Hello,

I try to make the hostfile working.
On my system the router has dhcp so my computer gets a ip-number.
Do i have to type a ip-number in the host-file or must i do something else to make this work.

Roelof

charlie_lab:

From your question I guess that you are trying to make the machine's hostname appear in the /etc/hosts file?

Hosts files aren't normally used for dynamic IP addresses, as they can become out of date, and "localhost" is always mapped to the local machine (albeit through the loopback interface not through the external network interface). Another option is to use a DNS server (http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/DNS-HOWTO.html).

It is still possible to update the hosts file from DHCP, but I couldn't find any examples on line, suggesting that it's a rather rare thing to do.

The software that gets your DHCP address from the router is called a DHCP client, and it needs to be set up to update the hosts file when your IP address changes. On Ubuntu (for example), you can add a script to the directory /etc/dhcp3/dhclient-exit-hooks.d/, and dhclient will run that script when your IP address changes.

Hope that helps,

—Robert J Lee

Hi,

Now that you finished LFS, you probably want to look at BLFS.

DHCP client or daemon are both described (part of IV. Basic Networking).

BTW: LFS and BLFS differ in the way they should be approached. LFS is straight forward: Start at page 1 and work your way to the end. BLFS on the other hand is a collection of software, you decide which you install and which you don't. If you want to install DHCP client, take a look at that chapter, it explains how to install, shows (if any) dependencies/configuration.

If at all possible use the BLFS documentation, other sources tend to set up things differently (primarily the location of files).

Hope this helps.

Hi again,

You might also want to take a look at the following 2 chapters, those will give you an idea about what BLFS covers (and what not):

Which Sections of the Book Do I Want?
Going Beyond BLFS

The second link gives you some pointers for packages that are not covered in the BLFS book.

Oke,

Both , thank you.
I have to read a lot but that's not a problem.
Have a nice weekend.

Roelof