hosts file - mapping IP addresses

[Joe Fisherman]

Small network - DLink 614+ router, assigned IP (ie: not DHCP) to the server
(Mail, Web, Files). Other computers are all XP Pro, notebooks.

When accessing services remotely (90% a single location (home)) I need to
use the domain name to connect to the server (mydomain.com), so for
Outlook, Remote Desktop etc. I use the domain (mydomain.com). But when on
the LAN, it is MUCH faster to put the actual server name (myservername), as
it doesn't go out over the Internet.

Trying to read back through google, it appears that the hosts file in
\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts can be used to map the IP address to
the server name. This sounds ideal. I tried it, by adding:

192.168.3.44 domain.com

And it didn't work. When I hit the web server (www.servername.com), it is
still pulling the files from the Internet connection (while on the LAN).

Am I understanding this wrong. Once I get this working, I hope to somehow
have it try using the LAN, and if it can't find it on the LAN (ie: I am on
a different LAN) it would then try the Internet.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Joe

[Mick Beeby]

Not sure if it will work but try using:-

192.168.3.44 WWW.servername.com

In theory it should check your HOSTS file before doing a DNS lookup.

This is something so simple I 've never tried so I may be talking rubbish.

Mick

"Joe Fisherman" <jfish...@absolutelydonotspamOutdoorAdventures.com> wrote
in message news:Xns94694E1F6A122no...@216.196.97.131...