You could create only 1 /etc/hosts file on only 1 of your computers and run a TFTP server on it.
make sure that your hosts file is in the /tftpboot directory of your TFTP server.
On all your other computers you could run a script that "tftp" the hosts file.
The script looks like this
#! bash
cd /etc
tftp get tftpserver-ip hosts
you MUST use TFTP and not FTP since TFTP does not require authentication.
In order to be aware of changes, you can use the script in a cron job, or just execute it at boot time
configure tftp server on linux is VERY easy :
http://www.linux.com/howtos/Clone-HO...tting-up.shtml
This will save you headaches with DNS configurations and allow your network hosts manageable.