Overview
If I am not misreading your question, it sounds as if you wish to access the web server for your device by a name, rather than by an IP address.
If this is the case, then you simply need to set up a DNS server on your local network. This server would:
After setting up this DNS server, you would then want to configure your router to use that local server for DNS requests, rather than sending requests to your ISP directly.
Devices connected to the router (e.g. phones, tablets and laptops) could then connect to the web server in question with the given name you've chosen, without modifying any hosts file.
Questions
Is there a name for what I am trying to do?
The term I have seen most frequently used is "local DNS".
Can my router do this functionality without using custom firmware?
You shouldn't need custom firmware to do what I am describing.
The exception to this rule might be if you wanted the router itself to act as your local DNS server. This isn't typically possible with stock, consumer-grade firmware.
Notes
Netgear DNS Server Settings
The DNS server IP address settings you need should be located under Advanced → Setup → Internet Setup → Domain Name Server (DNS) Address in the standard Netgear Genie interface. Click the Use These DNS Servers radio button and enter the IP address for your local DNS server (it's okay to enter the same address in both fields):
ex. Netgear DNS Server Settings
In the example above, 1.2.3.4 would be replaced with the local IP address of your DNS server. If you don't see these settings, you router may be in Access Point (AP) mode, which you will have to discontinue using if you wish to proceed with the solution I outline. Make sure to Apply any changes you make.
DNS Server Hardware
Any computer on your network can serve as your local DNS server. The only thing to remember is that it needs to be on 24/7 to allow both access to your project (via its name) and the internet at large. You can choose to use your Pi for this, but a separate computer would work as well (and may provide slightly better performance).
DNS Server Software
BIND is one option and the one I would personally recommend. Another option that seems to be popular is Dnsmasq. Both are available for *NIX style OSes, including the Raspberry Pi if you choose to run your DNS server on that device.
Regarding BIND in particular, it is also extremely well-supported on Windows. Zytrax also has a good online reference if you need more information about DNS and BIND generally.
In any case, there should be plenty of guides available on Google on how to set up the DNS server software of your choice on your preferred platform, assuming that you don't pick a smaller project.
BIND Local Domain Examples
While there are additional steps you would need to take overall, below are some extremely simple examples of how BIND might be configured to serve a local domain called e.g. http://temp.monitor/:
ex. named.conf
# Anything with a hash (#) is a comment.
# Where do we find our zone files?
# Zones files hold our domain/IP mapping information.
options {
directory "/path/to/some/zones";
allow-transfer { none; };
# Tack down the edges a bit regarding security.
# allow-recursion {192.168.1.0/24;}; // change IPs as required
allow-recursion {"localnets";};
# The option below forwards non-local domains to outside DNS servers.
# This means we can still use the internet.
# This is where you might put your ISP's DNS server addresses.
# The (working) IPs below are for Google's free 3rd-party DNS services.
forwarders { 8.8.8.8; 8.8.4.4; };
};
# Our local domain (i.e. the desired URL for your project).
zone "temp.monitor" IN {
type master;
file "temp.zone";
allow-transfer { none; };
};
# Entries below the following line may be included
# in a different file, depending on your platform.
# ------------------------------------------------
# This section requires a correct "secret".
# This section will likely be copied from your rndc.conf file (generated separately).
# Adjust as needed. This is just an example secret.
key "rndc-key" {
algorithm hmac-md5;
secret "2diZ8TosQlmJc15Nw3+ISh==";
};
# Allow our local DNS server to use rndc
controls {
inet 127.0.0.1 port 953
allow { 127.0.0.1; } keys { "rndc-key"; };
};
# End of named.conf
ex. temp.zone
; Zone file for our "temp.monitor" zone.
; Enables use of e.g. http://temp.monitor/.
; Anything with a semi-colon is a comment.
; "weatherwizard.temp.monitor" below is an email address.
; The first . substitutes for the normal @ symbol.
; This doesn't have to be a real/active address.
$TTL 3600 ; Time-To-Live, in seconds
@ IN SOA ns.temp.monitor. weatherwizard.temp.monitor. (
2019061401 ; serial, often based on the date
10800 ; Refresh period
3600 ; Retry interval
604800 ; Expire time
86400 ) ; Negative caching TTL
@ NS ns.temp.monitor.
ns IN A 10.0.0.1 ; This entry is necessary - Use the IP of the BIND server
temp.monitor. IN A 10.0.0.1 ; A Record for the temperature server - we're assuming its on the same server as BIND
cool IN A 10.0.0.1 ; A Record for a sub-domain on the same machine e.g. http://cool.temp.monitor.
1Such a great answer. As you alluded to I did want the router itself to act as the DNS server. The reasoning was that NetGear routers have some sort of inbuilt DNS already (so you can setup the router by visiting routersetup.net or whatever the actual URL is) but it seems this isn't exposed for configuration. I have accepted your answer as it has answered all my questions as best as possible, thankyou for your time! – Kaden – 2019-06-22T02:48:15.353
Glad you found it helpful. No, Netgear routers aren't bad for running small sites generally, but they don't expose any DNS functionality, unfortunately (which would honestly be a rather nice). – Anaksunaman – 2019-06-22T02:59:11.510