ping -a returning localhost

[julius]

I am performing a ping -a ip.ad.dr.ess to find out the
hostname associated with the ip address and receiving "localhost" as the hostname regardless of what ip address I use.
This ip address is not 127.0.0.1, the loopback address.
Also, this ip address is not the actual IP of the computer from which I am
performing the above command.
Therefore, ping -a ip.ad.dr.ess should return a different hostname than
localhost (yes, all our workstations have different
hostnames and none of them have the hostname of
localhost). If you could elucidate this problem, I will
greatly appreciate it.

thanx,
julius

[WhiteZin]

The problem is DNS. Do you have reverse-lookup-zones? Are the clients you are trying to ping in DNS either entering them manually or using Dynamic Updates via DHCP. If no to these questions then WINS maybe ... just depends how your network is configured ... A lot of things can cause this .. hopefully this will get you in the right direction.

Good Luck!


------------
julius at 3/25/2002 2:55:27 PM

I am performing a ping -a ip.ad.dr.ess to find out the
hostname associated with the ip address and receiving "localhost" as the hostname regardless of what ip address I use.
This ip address is not 127.0.0.1, the loopback address.
Also, this ip address is not the actual IP of the computer from which I am
performing the above command.
Therefore, ping -a ip.ad.dr.ess should return a different hostname than
localhost (yes, all our workstations have different
hostnames and none of them have the hostname of
localhost). If you could elucidate this problem, I will
greatly appreciate it.

thanx,
julius

[julius]

Here's the environment. We are using Win2K WINS and DNS with reverse-lookup-zones. WINS doesn't do reverse lookup because it is not indexed by IP...at least, that's what Microsoft says.

Here's the strange part.
If I change anything in my IP settings on the affected computer I am performing the "ping -a", the network settings get reinitialized and "ping -a" acts normally. When I come in the next day, "ping -a" returns "localhost" again.

Some observations:
When "ping -a" works normally, there is a noticeable pause. When "ping -a" returns "localhost," it is instantaneous. I have a feeling that it has to do with cached name resolution.

--thanx,
julius


------------
WhiteZin at 3/25/2002 4:18:09 PM

The problem is DNS. Do you have reverse-lookup-zones? Are the clients you are trying to ping in DNS either entering them manually or using Dynamic Updates via DHCP. If no to these questions then WINS maybe ... just depends how your network is configured ... A lot of things can cause this .. hopefully this will get you in the right direction.

Good Luck!


------------
julius at 3/25/2002 2:55:27 PM

I am performing a ping -a ip.ad.dr.ess to find out the
hostname associated with the ip address and receiving "localhost" as the hostname regardless of what ip address I use.
This ip address is not 127.0.0.1, the loopback address.
Also, this ip address is not the actual IP of the computer from which I am
performing the above command.
Therefore, ping -a ip.ad.dr.ess should return a different hostname than
localhost (yes, all our workstations have different
hostnames and none of them have the hostname of
localhost). If you could elucidate this problem, I will
greatly appreciate it.

thanx,
julius

[julius]

Additional information:
I have tried clearing/reloading both NetBIOS and DNS caches via
ntbstat -RR and ipconfig /flushdns.

Ping -a still returns "localhost"


------------
WhiteZin at 3/25/2002 4:18:09 PM

The problem is DNS. Do you have reverse-lookup-zones? Are the clients you are trying to ping in DNS either entering them manually or using Dynamic Updates via DHCP. If no to these questions then WINS maybe ... just depends how your network is configured ... A lot of things can cause this .. hopefully this will get you in the right direction.

Good Luck!


------------
julius at 3/25/2002 2:55:27 PM

I am performing a ping -a ip.ad.dr.ess to find out the
hostname associated with the ip address and receiving "localhost" as the hostname regardless of what ip address I use.
This ip address is not 127.0.0.1, the loopback address.
Also, this ip address is not the actual IP of the computer from which I am
performing the above command.
Therefore, ping -a ip.ad.dr.ess should return a different hostname than
localhost (yes, all our workstations have different
hostnames and none of them have the hostname of
localhost). If you could elucidate this problem, I will
greatly appreciate it.

thanx,
julius