Using Raspberry Pi as a webserver

Hello all
I am trying to set up a Pi to do some monitoring. It needs to display the results as a web page viewable on a local DHCP configured network. Is there any way for simplicity sake of configuring it’s network settings so it will resolve to a name as well as an IP address.

It needs to display the results as a web page viewable on a local DHCP configured network. Is there any way for simplicity sake of configuring it’s network settings so it will resolve to a name as well as an IP address.

You need the DHCP source to update the local name server (DNS) such that a ping to the name of the Pi will produce a response from the IP.
For a local home network a BT Home hub (Thomson Telecom router) will do the job and for a Pi given a name of PiBorg a “ping piborg.home” will give a response, equally a http://piborg.home would show the output of the webserver. !WebJames will act as the html server.

i.e. It’s a function of the DHCP server and DNS rather than the Pi.

using the hosts file will help you. Also using a static IP-address would be required because the hosts file is not updated by DHCP.

Apart from doing the fixed IP your router may allow to reserve ip addresses based on the MAC address of your RPi.

using the hosts file will help you. Also using a static IP-address would be required because the hosts file is not updated by DHCP.

Not really – the request was for information on configuration for a DHCP network:

It needs to display the results as a web page viewable on a local DHCP configured network.

So, suggesting NOT using DHCP is rather missing the point.

For the record, more complicated DHCP/DNS configurations, like Enterprise server setups, can have a DHCP reservation with an entry to update DNS on behalf of the client. If the DHCP reservation supplies a name and the client machine does not the DNS entry is correct, if the client supplies a correct name the DNS name will be correct.

How cheap the DHCP source actually is hasn’t been stated by Ian, but I assume that if his setup is rather obscure he will ask for more detail.

Even the most inept implementations of client (usually medical equipment from large companies¹) will have a correct DNS name in a properly configured DHCP network with half decent DHCP/DNS.

¹ That’s cynicism from the day job and a decade or so of pointing out the correct way to do things.

@Steve: did not know the webserver is intended to run on a enterprise server setup.
Sorry i misunderstood.. was thinking this was a home network..

@Steve: did not know the webserver is intended to run on a enterprise server setup.
Sorry i misunderstood.. was thinking this was a home network..

We don’t know either way – but the request was for DHCP working. Mind you many modern home routers will do as I mentioned and provide a FQDN, in fact it is this without the shortname resolution that causes many home users problems.