> That's a little easier.... That's what DNS is for..... > > /etc/hosts is there to remove the burden from DNS when things are > *KNOWN*, ie, static IP addresses and hostnames. > > DHCP, by definition, is dynamic. Furthermore, a DHCP server [your > router] is under no obligation to provide you with the same ip address > every time you boot up [or worse, every time your lease expires!!!]. > Let's say that your lease time is 3600 seconds. Then, every hour, the > DHCP client is going to request a lease renewal. Usually, the DHCP > server says 'Fine, here ya go, keep the same one for another 3600 > seconds'. However, it doesn't have to. It could turn around and say > 'Too bad.. Deal with a new IP/Hostname'. Would you want *all* of those > to be added to your /etc/hosts? Because, now your old IP address is no > longer localhost... OK, thanks for the explanation. I think I get it now. But what I still don't understand is: why don't I need to configure anything for my laptop to connect to the internet on Windows XP, but I have to modify /etc/hosts on Fedora ? -- Julien Olivier <julo@xxxxxxxxxx>
