domain name system - Windows DNS Server register a non **DHCP** client (server) into 2008R2

We have Linux boxes with static IP, some using Centos and other Debian, using IP ranges reserved for development and testing.

We need this boxes to 'publish' their DNS into DNS Server 2008R2, without administrator nor manual intervention.

These hosts has their hostname properly configured, but they don't register themselves to the DNS, so I cannot access them with their hostname.

On a windows box, this process is automatic and you can force re-registration with ipconfig /registerdns. Do we have equivalent for the Linux family?

The idea is to make these hosts to automatically add an entry for themselves on the DNS server so I can access them using their hostname.

RFC 2136 `Dynamic Updates in the Domain Name System (DNS UPDATE)' defines the protocol.

Answer

Actually, there is a utility named nsupdate that follows the protocol and provide what I was looking for. On Debian and Ubuntu, nsupdate defined as 'nsupdate is the little-known brother of nslookup'

You can add and delete 'a', 'aaaa', 'cname' and perhaps other records.

It's important to remind that your DNS server need to be 'open' and to accept dynamic updates. Due the fact that you can add any arbitrary IP address and delete legal entries, dynamic updates makes your DNS server a very insecure source of information! _{however, cool!}

sample

nsupdate
update add xxx.yyy.com. 600 a 10.11.12.13
update delete www.example.com cname
update delete www1.example.com a
update add xxx.yyy.com 600 a 10.11.12.13
update add aaa.yyy.com  600 cname xxx.yyy.com.

send