Auto Register Linux Client in AD (DNS)

Occasionally, I’ll build a prototype server just to kick the tires of some new system or application.  When I do that, I know that it’s a temporary set up and don’t want to spend time setting up a static IP address and registering it.  Fortunately, there’s a way to dynamically register a name with the DHCP server. See the ‘dhclient’ man page for more details but the short of it is:

Make sure the interface is down first:
    
[root@localhost]# ifconfig eth0 down
    
then type     

[root@localhost]# dhclient -F mycomputer.domain.org

where mycomputer.domain.org is your FQDN

Now try

[root@localhost]# nslookup
>mycomputer.domain.org
Server:     8.8.8.8
Address:    8.8.8.8
Name:   mycomputer.domain.org
Address: 192.168.1.1

Voila!