Modifying your 'hosts' file

Computer operating systems each contain a file which allows you to override your network's domain name system (DNS) for individual domains.

Modifying your PC's 'hosts' file will change how it connects to other computers or websites. Take care not to remove or modify anything which may have previously been set up to allow your PC to function correctly.

As Windows' hosts file is crucial to how your system functions, you will need to open the file with elevated privileges to be able to save any changes. In this guide, we'll show you how to do that.

Locate Notepad, but don't open it as you normally would.
Right-click the shortcut or search result linking to Notepad, and select 'Run as administrator'.

Running Notepad as an administrator will allow you to save changes to the hosts file.
The User Account Control prompt will ask you to confirm you want to allow Notepad to make changes to your PC. Press 'Yes' (if logged in as an administrator) or enter an administrator's credentials to proceed.
In Notepad, go to 'File' > 'Open'.
Navigate to the hosts file at the following location and open it:

C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc/hosts

Add lines to the bottom of the file telling your computer which IP address to associate with which domain/hostname. You can also add comments (starting with a # symbol) to identify what each line does, for example:

192.168.1.11      P1-EXMPL-SRV1      # Primary PlayoutONE server
192.168.1.12      P1-EXMPL-SRV2      # Secondary PlayoutONE server

This will instruct your computer to disregard any DNS instructions it receives, and instead whenever an application tries to access P1-EXMPL-SRV1, traffic will be routed to 192.168.1.11.

Go to 'File' > 'Save' to save your changes.