4086b04e   
   XPost: comp.os.ms-windows.networking.tcp-ip   
   From: grahn+nntp@snipabacken.se   
      
   ["Followup-To:" header set to comp.protocols.tcp-ip.]   
   On Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:58:15 -0700 (PDT), S Claus    
   wrote:   
   > Hi all,   
   >   
   > here is a perhaps dumb question about hostnames on a company network.   
   >   
   > At this place where I work we have servers that can be pinged using:   
   >   
   > ping SMTAPPU01   
   >   
   > ...yet the ping starts with the statement:   
   > Pinging ldncsr0988.intra... [nn.nnn.n.n]   
   >   
   > And I can also using:   
   >   
   > ping ldncsr0988   
   >   
   > which gives the same reply.   
   >   
   > My question about this is, is it NAT that is used to have a server   
   > have two hostnames?   
      
   No, it has nothing to do with NAT. It's caused by either DNS+whatever   
   Windows uses, or pure DNS.  Each IP address has one or more names, and   
   one of them is the canonical name.  Ping shows you the canonical name,   
   just to be helpful.   
      
   The Wikipedia article on DNS gives more details.   
      
   > And another question is what is the benefit of this? Is there any   
   > benefit other than being able to use more than one hostname?   
      
   Yes. You can have one set of names on your machines which are fixed   
   (refer to the actual machine) and one set which refers to the services   
   they provide.  Like 'www', 'mail', 'pop' ... then you can move these   
   latter names around along with the actual services, and the users do   
   not have to care.   
      
   I am sure there are other uses too.   
      
   /Jorgen   
      
   --   
     // Jorgen Grahn    O  o   .   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)