How Do You Map a Domain Name to a Local Server?

Many business have their own internal Web servers--\"intranet sites\"--to provide information and updates to employees. The benefits of using intranet sites include increased security and less utilization of the company's Internet connection. However, employees need a simple way to access an intranet site, and remembering an IP address is far from easy for many. Deploy a modified hosts file to the workstations at your business to have the computers browse directly to an internal Web server when a domain name is entered in the browser.

Instructions

1. Locate the hosts file on any Windows workstation to begin the modification. The file is located in \"C:\\windows\\\" on computers running Windows 98 and Millennium, and \"C:\\winnt\\system32\\drivers\\etc\\\" or \"C:\\windows\\system32\\drivers\\etc\\\" on computers running Windows XT, 2000, XP, Vista and 7. The file is called simply \"hosts\" with no extension.

2. Double click the \"hosts\" file. When Windows asks you to select the application to open the file with, select Notepad or WordPad.

3. Use the mouse or keyboard to position the cursor below the final line of the file. If the file has never been modified, the final line will say \"127.0.0.1 localhost.\"

4. Type the internal IP address of the Web server housing the intranet site that you are mapping, followed by a space and the domain name that you would like employees to use when browsing to that site. The line might look something like \"192.168.0.1 www.mybusiness.com\" when you are finished.

5. Save the \"hosts\" file, then deploy it to each computer on the network. The modified \"hosts\" file must replace the existing file on each computer, and all modified computers will need to be restarted for the change to take effect. All modified computers will now browse directly to the IP address that you have specified when the domain name is entered.

References

• ACCS-Net.com: How Do I Use the Hosts File?