[Discuss] Using public DNS for intranet hosts?

[dbarrett at blazemonger.com (Daniel Barrett)]

Rich Pieri <richard.pieri at gmail.com> wrote:
>On Fri, 28 Aug 2026 15:42:05 -0400 Daniel Barrett <dbarrett at 
>blazemonger.com> wrote:
>> Is it a good idea, bad idea, or neutral idea to use the DNS server at
>> the *registrar* for example.com to implement these names?
>Bad idea. You're trying to put non-routable IP addresses into a public
>DNS zone. At the least your RR records will be a disaster, assuming
>your registrar or DNS provider let you do it at all.

Thanks. I'm curious, is it a "bad idea" just because it's an ugly
hack, or is there another reason? (FWIW, I ran a test, and my
registrar's DNS software accepts an A record of this sort without any
complaint, and tech support told me it doesn't seem to violate any of
their policies.)

>The correct solution is to run a little caching nameserver inside your
>private network and put your private records here.

I totally agree, and that would be a great suggestion if I were not
the only person with sysadmin skills in my household, but I am. I
can't have non-spouse-compatible solutions in place, like a headless
Raspberry Pi in the basement, that nobody else can maintain if I die
or am unavailable. That's why I mentioned my spouse in my original
post.

Any alternative suggestions/feedback? Thank you very much.
Dan