Map Custom Web Address Name to IP address on Local Wi-FI Network

[Harry McKenzie]

Hi... I can access my computer's localhost via the computer's IP address. I can also access my computer's localhost using that aforementioned IP address in the web browser through my Android device that is on the same Wi-Fi network. The thing is i don't want to type the IP address in my Android's web browser to access my computer's localhost. Rather, I want to use a custom name like "mysite.md". I have ZERO experience with configuring a DNS server. I'd really love to get a very detailed (and SIMPLE if possible) straight-forward step-by-step instruction to achieve this using unrooted Android 9+. Please can anyone help me with this as i've only found confusing and non-straight-forward / non-simple "solutions" that didn't even work for me... please....

 

[mustang7757]

@Rukbat

 

[mustang7757]

Hi @mustang7757. Oh i did register but forgot to click the verification link in my email. i'm registered now

Hi , welcome !
I tagged a team member , might be offline but I'll tag another to get you the best help as possible @B. Diddy

 

[B. Diddy]

Nah, I got nothin', sorry. Best to wait for Rukbat to weigh in.

 

[anon(10614692)]

Achieving this is done via the router, which may or not be possible as it is router dependent

 

[Rukbat]

The only ways of doing it is by running a DNS server somewhere on the network - you can do that in Windows by running Technitium DNS Server on your Windows PC (or, if you run something else, tell us what and one of us can search for you), or ... you can add the IP address and host name that you like - like

192.168.1.3 MySite.com

to the hosts file. In Windows 10, that's at windows\system32\drivers\etc. You have to open Notepad as administrator to be able to save the file when you're done. But you'd have to do that to each computer you want to use to access the site by name.

Running Technitium, you can (probably - I've never done it) set it to look on your normal DNS servers for anything it can't find (which would be anything not on your network). You could just aim that at your router, or use 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 for Google's DNS, or 1.1.1.1 for CloudFlare. (I just have localhost aimed at my own PC in the PC's hosts file:

127.0.0.1 localhost

and connect to localhost. (For my phone, I have a dynamic DNS [I use noip.com] so my external IP has a name, and I have port 80 forwarded to my PC in my router, so if I connect to that name, it connects to the router, gets forwarded to the PC, and I see my local server [but I can get to it when I'm out of the house too]. I use it locally too, most of the time, because the difference in latency between localhost and noip isn't noticeable, I connect to the named address.)