If you just want to do this for convenience, the simplest method is to add a stanza to your ssh configuration file ~/.ssh/config :

Host my_server_name HostName some_ip_address User my_name ... any other options 

Then you can ssh my_server_name to connect.

If you just want to do this for convenience, the simplest method is to add a stanza to your ssh configuration file ~/.ssh/config :

Host my_server_name HostName some_ip_address User my_name ... any other options 

Then you can ssh my_server_name to connect.

Other options include:

• using mDNS and connecting to the .local name your machine advertises (mDNS is called bonjour in the Apple world; a common linux implementation is avahi).

• editing the /etc/hosts file on each client machine to provide a mapping from the IP address to the chosen server name.

• installing and configuring a DNS server on a machine in your local network, and setting it as the preferred DNS server for all other local machines.