When using proxy_pass, can /etc/hosts be used to resolve domain names instead of “resolver”?

Question

Can /etc/hosts be used instead of resolver when using proxy_pass?

I need to perform a proxy_pass to the same nginx

Answer 1

A workaround is to use Nginx map, in order to copy the /etc/hosts content.

map $wanted_host $wanted_host_ip
{
    default 127.0.0.1;
    b.dev.local X.X.X.X;
    a.dev.local X.X.X.X;
}

server
{
    listen              80;
    server_name         ~^(?P<wanted_port>[0-9]+?)-(?P<wanted_host>.+?)\.HOSTNAME$;

    location /
    {
        proxy_pass http://$wanted_host_ip:$wanted_port;

    }
}

This will map wanted_hostto wanted_host_ip , like a resolver.

Answer 2

You can get around this by installing dnsmasq and setting your resolver to 127.0.0.1. Basically this uses your local DNS as a resolver, but it only resolves what it knows about (among those things is your /etc/hosts) and forwards the rest to your default DNS.