HT201275: Mac OS X v10.4, 10.5, 10.6: How to look up ".local" hostnames via both Bonjour and standard DNS

Learn about Mac OS X v10.4, 10.5, 10.6: How to look up ".local" hostnames via both Bonjour and standard DNS
David Vincent

Q: OS X 10.10 Yosemite .local names via Bonjour & DNS?

I have a MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009) running OS X Yosemite Version 10.10.3.  It also has OS X Server.

 

I'm having some trouble with the computer resolving .local hostnames.  This happens on a home WiFi network and on another Ethernet wired network.  I've been looking for troubleshooting ideas.  I found Mac OS X v10.4, 10.5, 10.6: How to look up ".local" hostnames via both Bonjour and standard DNS - Apple Support that looks like just what I want, except it doesn't cover Yosemite.  I have searched support.apple.com for an article like this.

 

Can anyone help me find the article ,or find some other material thjat might help?  Alternatively you might like to take a look at my symptoms and suggest other things I might try.  Here are some of the symptoms.

 

  • The Synergy app cannot resolve the name of the MacBook.
  • I can't get the Synergy app to work as usual;  it resports that it cannot resolve the MacBook's name.
  • I can't get another computer on the LAN to resolve the MacBook's name. 
  • I can't get the MacBook to resolve its own name.
  • The MacBook can resolve the other computer's name.
  • Non-local names, such as discussions.apple.com, get resolved.

 

I haven't found a cause of the problem.  Restarting the computer has made the problem go away in the past.  I tried logging out and logging in again, but that didn't help. 

MacBook, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.5), Mariel

Posted on Jun 7, 2015 1:16 AM

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Q: OS X 10.10 Yosemite .local names via Bonjour & DNS?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Linc Davis,Helpful

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jun 7, 2015 10:39 AM in response to David Vincent
    Level 10 (208,000 points)
    Applications
    Jun 7, 2015 10:39 AM in response to David Vincent

    The .local top-level domain is reserved for multicast DNS, which Apple calls "Bonjour." The restriction wasn't enforced before OS X 10.10, but it is now. Unicast domain names with that TLD will not resolve with the system in its default configuration.

    If you have an Active Directory setup that can't be changed, and you absolutely must use unicast names in the .local TLD, see this discussion.

  • by John Lockwood,Helpful

    John Lockwood John Lockwood Jun 8, 2015 4:33 AM in response to David Vincent
    Level 6 (9,349 points)
    Servers Enterprise
    Jun 8, 2015 4:33 AM in response to David Vincent

    If you have setup your WiFi so that it uses a different IP range to your Ethernet network then Bonjour will not work between the two. As its name suggests the .local domain is only for local machines, if the WiFi and Ethernet are different network ranges then they are not considered local to each other. To get Bonjour to work between WiFi and Ethernet they need to be the same network range and this is accomplished by configuring your WiFi router to work in 'bridged' mode.

     

    If you have configured your WiFi router to either 'share' an address or use NAT, or work as a router then it is not in bridged mode. The Apple AirPort Express and AirPort Extreme can operate in both bridged and non-bridged modes, however a lot of other cheaper WiFi routers can only work in one or the other mode.