On 2022-03-20 10:11 a.m.,
Timignored_mailbox@yahoo.com.au wrote:
If you want a predictable LAN, then I really only see two ways to manage that without major pain:
Run a DHCP server with a DNS server...
Manually configure each device to have a fixed IP.
I think you left out a third method, which uses part of your version 1.
3. Use a router and set static addresses for each device. Today, all routers act as DHCP servers, and setting a static address/MAC address pair in the router setup ensures that any listed device will get the same address every time. The router does not have to act as a DNS server for internal devices: it passes external name calls to the gateway.
You only need to access the router setup when there is a new physical device being added, such as a new phone. You can give it the same old IP but that will now be paired to the new MAC. And then the /etc/hosts file is merely a memorandum file to keep track of things.
Geoff