--- mcore-src/trunk/mcore-tools/src/include/common.global.class.in	2016/02/10 15:26:23	2767
+++ mcore-src/trunk/mcore-tools/src/include/common.global.class.in	2017/04/07 07:17:48	2809
@@ -263,10 +263,39 @@
 	echo $5
 }
 
+validate_ip_addr()
+{
+	local ip="$1"
+	local retval=1
+	local _ifs
+
+	if [[ ${ip} =~ ^[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}$ ]]
+	then
+		_ifs=$IFS
+		IFS='.'
+		# convert to an array
+		ip=($ip)
+		IFS=$_ifs
+
+		if [[ ${ip[0]} -le 255 ]] &&
+			[[ ${ip[1]} -le 255 ]] &&
+			[[ ${ip[2]} -le 255 ]] &&
+			[[ ${ip[3]} -le 255 ]]
+		then
+			retval=$?
+		fi
+	fi
+
+	return ${retval}
+}
+
 # get ip from dns name
 dns_to_ip()
 {
-	set -- $(getent hosts $1)
+	if ! validate_ip_addr $1
+	then
+		set -- $(getent hosts $1)
+	fi
 	echo $1
 }