LocalHost in share path?

Question

I am setting up in a test environment and need to save some paths in a database but dont want to edit the paths when we go to production. My idea being that I could create a share on both servers and use a generic name like LocalHost instead of TestServer for the paths.

Example:
\\LocalHost\Docs

I have used a mapped drive temporarily but was curious if there is another magic word like localhost that works with share paths?

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 06 '09 at 01:22

We use CNAMES in DNS as a method to create a layer between real server names and an easy to remember name. For example we name servers based on a combination of their role, site, and number, but we use CNAMES so users are able to remember them easily and they never have to remember another name when we migrate to new servers.

Our file server is called ISSFL101, but in DNS we just use "file". So, users are just able to type \file\documents and they are able to access what they need. When we move to a new server we just update the CNAME record to point to the new servers IP address and we are able to cutover in no time and users never know the difference.

Other than that I am not aware of any easy shortcuts.

This is a nice solution too but mine is a little different – bugtussle Nov 06 '09 at 15:11 — bugtussle, Nov 06 '09 at 15:11

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 06 '09 at 15:10

1

A coworker answered this one: You can use \\127.0.0.1\docs instead of a hard coded name.

answered Nov 06 '09 at 15:10

bugtussle

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you can also use \\\%computername%\ – bugtussle Nov 06 '09 at 15:24

LocalHost in share path?

2 Answers2