pfSense static mappings

Networking & Firewalls
#1

I have been following your excellent videos about setting up pfSense, and so far so good - thanks to your help

I do have a question when it comes to setting up static DHCP mappings.

In the initial pfSense setup, I used the default ‘pSense’ for the Hostname and ‘localdomain’ for the domain.

When setting up a static mapping, there is a field for ‘hostname’ just above the description field. Am I supposed to enter ‘pfSense’ as the hostname (since I used that in the initial setup) leave it blank or what?

#2

That is the field where you statically set the host name to the assigned IP address. Once set, you can enter either the IP or hostname to access the device.
Example: You have a Ubuntu PC that you want to statically map IP 192.169.1.5 and Hostname of Ubuntu. Since your pfSense domain name is localdomain you can either enter the IP address or Ubuntu.localdomain to access the machine. You do not enter the domain name in the hostname field.

#3

That makes sense - thanks

When I initially set up these static mappings, I used the same name for both the Hostname and the description field.

For example -> “Printer-Epson” was used in both those fields as was “Firestick”. I thought I may have screwed it up, but it sounds like it will be ok the way it is.

Is there any problem with changing the main domain name at this point to something a little more user-friendly?

Hostname
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#4

You can change your domain name to whatever you want to. Its all internal to your network. I have mine set to a domain I own just to keep things simplified for me.

#5

Thanks for your help :slight_smile:

#6

I have a hostname associated with an ip address.
Is there something I need to run within pfSense for it to resolve the hostname?

#7

I answered my own question. I did not have to run any other options.
I did not enable DNS resolver.
When connecting using my Mac, I had to have my pfSense machine as the first DNS server in my list for it to resolve.
I can now ssh to my self assigned hostname that setup was part of the DHCP Static mappings.