Resolving Hostnames To IP Addresses Ubuntu

To change how the address https://docs.natenetworks.com/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack is resolved locally and use a hostname instead of an IP address, you can edit the hosts file on your local machine. This allows you to map the IP address to a more friendly hostname, which you can then use in your browser or any application that accesses this URL. Here’s how to do it for various operating systems:

For Linux and macOS

• sudo nano /etc/hosts

• Add an entry for the IP address and the desired hostname at the end of the file. For example, if you want to use mybookstack.local as the hostname, add:

  lua

1. 192.168.1.236 mybookstack.local

   Ensure there's a space or a tab between the IP address and the hostname.

2. Save and close the file. In nano, you can do this by pressing Ctrl + O, Enter to save, and Ctrl + X to exit.

3. Now, you should be able to access https://docs.natenetworks.com/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack using http://mybookstack.local/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack.

For Windows

1. Open Notepad as Administrator. You can do this by searching for Notepad in the Start menu, right-clicking on it, and selecting “Run as administrator”.

2. Open the hosts file located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.

3. Add an entry for the IP address and the desired hostname. For example:

   lua

1. 192.168.1.236 mybookstack.local

   Make sure there’s a space or a tab between the IP address and the hostname.

2. Save and close the file.

After you update the hosts file, you might need to flush your DNS cache for the changes to take effect immediately. Here's how you can do it:

• On Linux, open a terminal and run:

  bash
• sudo systemctl restart nscd

  This command restarts the Name Service Cache Daemon, but note that not all distributions run nscd by default.

• On macOS, open a terminal and run:

  bash
• sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

  This command resets the DNS cache.

• On Windows, open Command Prompt as Administrator and run:

  cmd

• ipconfig /flushdns

Now, when you use http://mybookstack.local/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack in your browser, it should resolve to https://docs.natenetworks.com/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack via the local hostname you set.

Using the Computer's Hostname

If you prefer to use the computer's hostname (assuming the computer hosting the BookStack instance has a name like bookstack-server), you can simply map the hostname to the IP address in the same way. However, if you want the hostname to be recognized by other devices in your network without editing each device's hosts file, you'd typically need to configure this on your DNS server or router, which might support local DNS configurations. This process varies significantly depending on the router or DNS server software, so you'll need to refer to the specific instructions for your device or software.