DNS server that resolves hostnames using ARP...?

[gherald]

I am looking for a simple cacheing DNS server that will (as an extension to normal behavior) resolve hostnames to IPs using a MAC table.

For example, suppose the DNS server knows that the hostname "tux" is using the MAC "00:00:00:00:00:00" (this would be specified in a config file somewhere). A DNS client then tries to resolve tux. The DNS server would use e.g. arpping to search for the IP being used by the network node with MAC 00:00:00:00:00:00, and return the result closest to the subnet of the DNS client, or -- as the case may be -- not found resulting in a 404

Does anything like this exist? It may just be a wack idea of mine... but I would find it very useful because I cronically move multiple machines between multiple networks, and I certainly can't rely on being DHCPed the same address on networks where I have not been assigned a static address (most wifi, for example). Dyndns will take care of the rest, but not when both machines in question are behind the same NAT (in which case they should be able to find each other via ARP, hence why I think having such a private caching DNS server would be useful)

 

[spidey07]

DNS resolves name to IP.

What you're looking for is a network management application to coorelate all that information.

Once the packet crosses a router, the mac is removed and is only locally significant to that router. Mac address are only "seen" by the local IP subnet/network.

 

[gherald]

Originally posted by: spidey07
DNS resolves name to IP.

What you're looking for is a network management application to coorelate all that information.

Once the packet crosses a router, the mac is removed and is only locally significant to that router. Mac address are only "seen" by the local IP subnet/network.

I understand how routing works. What I need is DNS server software (or script for an existing one) that can use ARP or be configured to call an external application such as arping to resolve certain hostnames.

If this kind of software/script only exists as part of a larger 'network management application', then so be it.

 

[n0cmonkey]

I'm not aware of anything, but you could use a combination of DNS + DHCP. I know the ISC DNS server (BIND) can give out IP addresses based on the client's MAC address, in fact I used that feature previously for my netbooting clients.

Using something like that ensures that tux gets the same IP over and over again.

 

[gherald]

But I have no control over the DHCP servers of arbitrary networks.

 

[n0cmonkey]

I'm not sure you should be seeing the MAC addresses from "arbitrary networks."

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: gherald

Originally posted by: spidey07
DNS resolves name to IP.

What you're looking for is a network management application to coorelate all that information.

Once the packet crosses a router, the mac is removed and is only locally significant to that router. Mac address are only "seen" by the local IP subnet/network.

I understand how routing works. What I need is DNS server software (or script for an existing one) that can use ARP or be configured to call an external application such as arping to resolve certain hostnames.

If this kind of software/script only exists as part of a larger 'network management application', then so be it.

Well no offense, but if you knew how routing worked you wouldn't be asking this question. You can only arp on your local network, otherwise you need an application that querys the router for its arp table and does the resolving for you.....aka network management app.

You can't arp for a remote subnet.

 

[gherald]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey
I'm not sure you should be seeing the MAC addresses from "arbitrary networks."

In the instance that what I am asking for would be useful, the nodes would be on the same "arbitrary network". For instance, a random NATed wifi network.

For situtations in which the nodes are on different arbitrary networks, I of course use dyndns.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: spidey07
You can't arp for a remote subnet.

:thumbsup:

 

[Nothinman]

The closest thing is probably multicast-dns which is part of the ZeroConf crap.