Done via “SQL Server Configuration Manager” > “SQL Native Client vXY.Z Configuration” > Aliases
tip: SSMS.exe is a 32bit app (because Visual Studio, upon which it is based, still has a well established justification for 32bit) and therefore it depends on the (32bit) Client Configuration node above to find your server alias
For mainstream sql server network client API based connections there is no need to put this alias anywhere else (i.e. not in DNS/hosts file nor AD computers)
tip: in AD trusted login context, it seems mandatory to use the name of the actual SQL Server host machine vs just the corresponding ip address; otherwise i would always get bonked with “Login failed. The login is from an untrusted domain and cannot be used with Windows authentication.”
