You do not need to run DNS to do what you are trying to do, but you need to list a valid (or more than one) DNS on your /etc/resolv.conf, which should contain:
search dnsdomainname.com nameserver XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX nameserver XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
Of course, XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX are the IP of the DNS you are going to use. Done!
But it's nice to run your own caching server to reduce traffic and you eliminate dependence on your ISP's servers. To do this, install the caching-nameserver RPM package. It's a config file for BIND (named) that runs it only as a caching server. Then enable and start the named service.
Finally, in /etc/resolv.conf, set the nameserver to 127.0.0.1 so that it will consult your new caching nameserver.
