40.7. Adding IdM host entries from IdM CLI

At its most basic, specify only the client host name to add the client to the Kerberos realm and to create an entry in the IdM LDAP server:

$ ipa host-add client1.example.com

If the IdM server is configured to manage DNS, add the host to the DNS resource records using the --ip-address option to create a host entry with static IP address.

$ ipa host-add --ip-address=192.168.166.31 client1.example.com

If the host to be added does not have a static IP address or if the IP address is not known at the time the client is configured, use the --force option with the ipa host-add command to create a host entry with DHCP.

$ ipa host-add --force client1.example.com

For example, laptops may be preconfigured as IdM clients, but they do not have IP addresses at the time they are configured. Using --force essentially creates a placeholder entry in the IdM DNS service. When the DNS service dynamically updates its records, the host’s current IP address is detected and its DNS record is updated.