Linksys EA9500 - Local DNS

[RatherLoopy]

I'm generally happy with my new-to-me Linksys EA9500, but it seems to have no support for local DNS/hosts, i.e. where mediaserver.lan resolves to my network machine at 192.168.1.95. The router admin does let me specify its DNS servers so I've been using Pi-Hole for DNS (which works fine for local DNS), but lately, the router is having trouble resolving web domain so I'm looking again for router-only solution.

Does anyone know how to access/add local network DNS support with this router? I was able to SSH into my last router and directly edit its hosts file... does anyone know how I can have my EA9500 resolve local *.lan domains to local IP addresses without using a standalone DNS server on my network?

 

[eibgrad]

You could install a hosts file on your client machine(s). In fact, before there were DNS servers, that's how it was done (and that's exactly what you were effectively doing /w your prior router). Very crude, but for some circumstances, it may still be sufficient. But I don't see any way you're going to have the benefits of a DNS server without having a DNS server! It would help if your router supported third party firmware (Merlin, DD-WRT, FreshTomato, etc.), but apparently that isn't the case. I even checked OpenWRT, and it seems to be a limited implementation due to a lack of wireless drivers.

That's why I never buy a router that doesn't provide a third-party option. Once you encounter a limitation, you're up the creek.

 

[RatherLoopy]

You could install a hosts file on your client machine(s)

I appreciate the thought, but maintaining individual hosts files on all my devices is the scenario I'm trying to avoid.

I did a little checking on the Pi-Hole and it seems to have automatically blocked some Google addresses (i.e. googleadservices.com, passwordsleakcheck-pa.googleapis.com, www.googleapis.com) and once I whitelisted those domains, my Pi-Hole DNS started acting right again.

I only paid $40 for the EA9500 to replace a Spectrum router so I wasn't being too picky about features, but I'll definitely do more research before buying my next one. Thanks again!