Access server on local area network with hostname instead of IP address

There are three (relatively simple) options for you to choose from:

Option 1 – .local

If your Ubuntu installation is announcing itself on the network (which it does by default), then you should be able to access it using the {host}.local domain name. This is OS independent, which means you'll be able to connect from devices running Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, or most other operating systems created after 1993.

For example, here are some systems on my home network:

^{These names are not very imaginative, but they get the job done.}

Option 2 – /etc/hosts on all network devices

If all of the machines on the network are running Ubuntu (or some form of Linux), then you could also resolve the issue by updating the /etc/hosts file on each other those machines to include a line for your server. This would allow you to set the domain name to be anything.

Option 3 – Local IPs on Personal Domains

Alternatively, if you have a domain name, you could set up DNS A records for subdomains that point to servers on your local network.

For example:

This would allow the devices on the home network to use the DNS provider they're already configured to use, and connections would only be possible when on the network (otherwise they time out).

Of the three options listed, the first may make the most sense unless you're looking for something really specific.