Well, the HOSTS will work (my Microsoft training curriculum said so, and it does work like that). The order of which Windows will use to resolve an IP address are: at the very first is HOSTS/LMHOSTS file, then when it failed, it will query the Master Browser in the network, that's where the "Computer Browser" service comes in. If the "Computer Browser" service failed, it will then query the first prefered DNS server it has, and when failed, it'll query the next prefered DNS server, and so on...
Jeffs, I just remembered something... as I understand it, you need more IP address, so you need to expand your address space. Now, if you read my guide about internetworking, I didn't have the time to talk about CIDR, Classless Inter Domain Routing.
If you've read my guide, the next topic after this won't be that confusing, if you haven't read the guide, I suggest you read it first, then continue read this post after you read the guide.
As I talked about in my guide, IP address is defined by 2 elements, the IP address number and the subnet mask. These 2 numbers do have a regulation body regulating it,
BUT for LAN that sits behind a NAT/PAT router, you can comply to that regulation loosely. What I mean is, Class C private address is defined by (I just pick a common one from the Class C range) 192.x.y.z with subnet mask of 24bits (255.255.255.0), we all know that,
BUT this is a closed network, you are using Class C private addressing because it's, well... private, Local Area Network... So, assuming this... you can freely define your subnet mask to accomodate your network size growth needs. Here's an example: for now you're using a 24bit subnet mask, that will result your network to have maximum of 254 hosts, the .0 is for network address, the .255 is the broadcast address. Here's where CIDR comes in. Classless means, it ignores the "regulation" of Class C private address, you can have, say... 20bit subnet mask, of even extreme (to simplify calculation) use a 16bit subnet mask (which according to regulation, it's a Class B network), but hey... it's private, you don't route your host directly to the internet, so it's OK. By reducing your subnet mask, you are extending the number of hosts you can have in your network.
Here's a test case:
Your current subnet mask is 24bit, that will give you 254 hosts available for your network. Say you need around 300 hosts in the net and you don't have the network infrastructure or human resources to maintain a routed network, you can just simply remove 1 bit from your network subnet mask. That means changing EVERY COMPUTER'S SUBNET MASK on the network. Say you're reducing it by one, so it's now 23bit (255.255.254.0), you are now able to stuff 512 hosts in your network, nothing is changed drastically, just the subnet mask. Say in the future you need to expand on the network some more, and you still don't have the infrastructure nor the resources, reduce another bit from your subnet mask, you'll double the number (at 22bit [255.255.252.0], you can have 1024 hosts in the network).
By using CIDR type address, you don't need to "define" another Class C network to use, and all will be simpler. You can test these type of addressing in a closed lab if you want, I have a network like this running in a production system, and it's routed through several network backbones. It works for those who are economically limited
Anyway, that was just an idea, feel free to test it
zzz2496
