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Multi Port Forwarder
DNS Proxywall
Geo Firewall
Geo Router
Virtual Network Hub
One table, not many files
Keep all your local names in a single .hostaddr table instead of an identical hosts file copied onto
every machine. There is one place to read and one place to change.
Put DNS Proxywall in front of your local network as a caching DNS resolver, then give every computer a stable name
from its permanent host address table — a network-wide equivalent of the Windows
hosts file that you edit in one place.
The Windows hosts file is the simplest way to pin a name to a fixed IP address — but it only
affects the one machine it lives on. Keeping a dozen machines in sync means editing a dozen files, and devices like
phones and printers have no hosts file to edit at all. Standing up a full DNS server or Active Directory just to name
a few local boxes is overkill.
DNS Proxywall sits between your devices and the Internet as a caching DNS resolver. For every lookup it first checks
its permanent host address table — the PermanentHostAddressTable.hostaddr file,
which has the same role and format as the Windows hosts file. Local names are answered straight from that table;
everything else is served from cache or forwarded upstream. Maintain the table on one machine, and the whole network
gets the same, current answers.
The order of resolution is what makes the table reliable: DNS Proxywall checks the permanent host address table before its cache and before contacting any upstream server. Your static local names therefore always win, and they can never be overridden by a stale cached record or a public answer.
Each line is a name, one or more IP addresses, an optional category tag and an optional comment — the same idea
as a hosts file, in the form [*.]domainname IP[,IP…] [Category] [# comment].
A leading *. makes a wildcard that matches every subdomain, and a name can resolve to several addresses.
Because the names live on the DNS Proxywall machine and are handed out over DNS, every computer, phone and printer on
the network resolves nas.home.lan to the same address — no client configuration beyond pointing at
the resolver.
Keep all your local names in a single .hostaddr table instead of an identical hosts file copied onto
every machine. There is one place to read and one place to change.
When a server’s IP changes, edit a single line. Because the table is checked before the cache and upstream, the new address is live immediately and every device follows.
Phones, tablets, printers and IoT gadgets have no hosts file, but they all use a DNS server. Point them at DNS Proxywall and they inherit your local names automatically.
The same service caches results for speed and forwards everything it doesn’t recognize to upstream DNS, so local names and normal Internet browsing both just work.
Enable the standard DNS proxy server so the machine answers DNS for other computers.
Add your local subnets to the proxy’s IP security so only your own devices may use it.
Add name→IP lines to PermanentHostAddressTable.hostaddr, using wildcards and multiple addresses where useful.
Set each device’s DNS server to the DNS Proxywall machine, or hand its address out through DHCP.
When something moves, change the one line in the table and the whole network resolves the new address.
| Task | A hosts file on every PC | DNS Proxywall host table |
|---|---|---|
| Where the names live | A separate file on each computer | One table on the DNS Proxywall machine |
| Changing an IP address | Edit every machine again | Edit one line, once |
| Phones, printers and IoT | No hosts file to edit | Covered — they just use it as their DNS |
| Wildcards and multiple IPs | Not supported | *.name and comma-separated addresses |
| Public names and caching | Unaffected; resolved separately | Same service caches and forwards everything else |
It serves the same purpose and uses a similar format. The permanent host address table (the
PermanentHostAddressTable.hostaddr file) maps names to fixed IP addresses, just like the Windows
hosts file. The difference is that it lives on a single DNS Proxywall machine and is served to the
whole network over DNS, and it adds wildcards and multiple addresses per name.
No — that is the point. Instead of editing a hosts file on each machine, you point every device’s DNS server at the DNS Proxywall machine and maintain all of your local names in one table. Devices that have no editable hosts file at all, such as phones, printers and IoT gadgets, are covered too because they simply use it as their DNS.
DNS Proxywall consults the permanent host address table before its cache and before any upstream server, so a change is live on the server as soon as you save it. Each client then picks up the new address when its own cached copy expires, so keeping the served TTL low makes changes propagate quickly across the network.
No. DNS Proxywall itself is the lightweight DNS service for the network. The number of computers it serves as a standard DNS proxy depends on the edition (Basic 2, Pro 3, Ultimate 20), so for a typical small network the Ultimate edition is the right fit.
Cache DNS for speed and serve consistent local addresses from one editable table — the whole network, in one place.
Notes:
* Windows® is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation.
