Assign .local Domain to Raspberry Pi: A How-To Guide

Simplifying Remote Access with .local Addresses

Frequently accessing devices on your home network through remote login, SSH, or similar methods can be cumbersome when you need to constantly recall their IP addresses. A more efficient solution involves assigning a readily memorable .local address to each device.

The Benefits of .local Addressing

Using .local addresses eliminates the need to look up IP addresses each time you connect. This streamlines the process of remote access and improves overall convenience.

This method is particularly useful for devices like a Raspberry Pi, where the IP address might change periodically.

Assigning a .local Address: A Practical Example

We will illustrate how to assign an easy-to-remember name to a Raspberry Pi. This process can be adapted for other devices on your network as well.

By following these steps, you can significantly reduce the effort required to connect to your devices remotely. The .local addressing scheme provides a user-friendly alternative to memorizing numerical IP addresses.

This approach enhances network management and simplifies access for all users.

The Benefits of Local Domain Names

Typically, home networks utilize Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for IP address assignment. This means devices receive a new IP address each time they connect and disconnect. Even with a static IP configured for a device, such as assigning 192.168.1.99 to a Raspberry Pi, remembering this unintuitive number can be challenging.

Furthermore, any changes to the IP address require memorizing a new value. While not a major issue, it's an inconvenience. Instead of memorizing IP strings, why not assign easily remembered names to your local devices, like raspberrypi.local or mediaserver.local?

Understanding the Potential Concerns

Those familiar with DNS and network addressing might question the implications of using domain names on a local network. It’s crucial to understand the difference between Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) and domain names used for private networks.

FQDNs include officially recognized top-level domains, such as the .com in www.howtogeek.com, indicating a commercial website. However, domain names not recognized by the global DNS system, or reserved for private use, present no conflict.

Special-Use Domain Names and Avoiding Conflicts

For instance, .internal is currently not an FQDN; no registered domains worldwide end with .internal. Therefore, using .internal for local addresses avoids DNS conflicts. However, this could theoretically change if .internal were to become an official FQDN.

The .local domain, however, is specifically reserved as a Special-Use Domain Name (SUDN) for internal network use. It will not be configured as an FQDN, guaranteeing that your custom local names will never conflict with external addresses, like howtogeek.local.

• DHCP: A protocol that automatically assigns IP addresses to devices on a network.
• FQDN: Fully Qualified Domain Name, including a recognized top-level domain.
• SUDN: Special-Use Domain Name, reserved for private network usage.

Understanding mDNS for Local Network Resolution

The functionality enabling local Domain Name System (DNS) resolution is provided by Multicast Domain Name Service, commonly known as mDNS. It’s important to note that two distinct versions of mDNS currently exist – one developed by Apple and another by Microsoft.

Apple’s mDNS implementation forms the foundation of their widely-used Bonjour local network discovery service.

Microsoft’s version is referred to as Link-local Multicast Name Resolution (LLMNR). However, LLMNR saw limited adoption due to non-compliance with established standards and a potential security vulnerability concerning domain capture.

Choosing an Implementation

Given the broader acceptance, superior support, and extensive application across diverse platforms, Apple’s Bonjour implementation of mDNS is the focus of this guide.

If your network includes computers running Apple’s OS X, no additional configuration is required on those devices. They already possess native mDNS support and are ready for integration with the Raspberry Pi setup.

Adding mDNS Support to Windows

For Windows machines lacking native mDNS capabilities – particularly those without iTunes installed (which typically includes a Bonjour client) – support can be easily added.

Download Apple's Bonjour Printer Service helper application from here. Despite its name, this tool provides comprehensive mDNS/Bonjour support throughout the Windows operating system.

Setting Up Bonjour Support on Your Raspberry Pi

To begin, access the terminal on your Raspberry Pi. This can be done directly on the device or remotely via SSH if you are using a headless setup. Once you have terminal access, it’s important to update and upgrade the apt-get package manager.

Updating and Upgrading Packages

The following commands will ensure your system is current. If you recently performed this step during another Raspberry Pi tutorial, it can be skipped.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

After the update and upgrade processes are finished, the next step involves installing Avahi. This is an open-source implementation of mDNS, which is crucial for Bonjour functionality.

Installing Avahi

Use the following command at the terminal prompt to install the Avahi daemon:

sudo apt-get install avahi-daemon

Upon completion of the installation, a reboot is not necessary. Your Raspberry Pi will immediately start responding to network queries for its hostname.

By default, the hostname is set to "raspberrypi". Consequently, the device will be accessible at raspberrypi.local.

In our testing, we utilized a Raspberry Pi previously configured as an ambient weather indicator. The local hostname was subsequently altered. Therefore, when searching for the .local address, we looked for weatherstation.local instead of the default raspberrypi.local.

It’s important to remember that the part of the address before the .local suffix always corresponds to the device’s hostname.

For instance, if you intend to name your Raspberry Pi music streamer jukebox.local, you must first modify the Pi’s hostname following the appropriate instructions.

Testing the .local Address

Now, test the new .local address from the machine you intend to access the Raspberry Pi from: