Naming convention for hostnames home network

netboy

Hi can you share the conventions you follow in nameing the following entities in your router?

hostname
Client Identifier and
Description

This is for home network not enterprise network

Gertjan

Hostname :

I'm not using "my-domaine-name.tld" of course.
Pick something like "here.home", and check that "here.home" isn't already used on the Internet.
Don't using a domain that ends with .local.

I do use a domain name that I rented from a registrar. I'm not using this domain name on the Internet, but for my local pfSense (LANs) networks as this permits me to get 'real' certificates, so when accessing https://pfSense.my-domaine-name.tld without any browser complaining about "self signed certs" etc.
But this is really optional of course.

@netboy said in Naming convention for hostnames home network:

Client Identifier and

What is that ?

@netboy said in Naming convention for hostnames home network:

Description

Ah, that's universal.
"What ever you like".

netboy

@Gertjan There is more to it.

For example if I want to answer the following questions:

What are the network switches I have in my network?
What are the IP cameras I have in my network?
What are the servers I have in my network

Et all.

Have anybody come up with some standards that they use?

Gertjan

@netboy said in Naming convention for hostnames home network:

Have anybody come up with some standards that they use?

You mean a standard port on every device that can tell the local network what it is, where it is, etc ?
Like snmp ?
The "bonjour" protocol ?
Type "arp -a" on the console.
And many more.
Let's ask the ancient : how to enumerate the devices in my network ?
... and you think : "hey, it's a mess". And you're right.

But there is some one, a person, that knows.
The admin.

netboy

@Gertjan I think you are not understanding my post.

Say you have a client id in router named something say

{group}-{manufacturer}-{model}-{location in house}-{desc}

group can be
-smartplug
-tablets
et all

location can be

basement
living room
et all

you get it?

hostname will be more simpler name for YOU to understand.

This is what I have come up with....are there anybody who have given thought on this?

I am aware one can lookup the manufacturer using the first 3 nodes of a mac address.

In the above naming convention I can query the database (my private db) on say
-- get me all 'smartswitch'
-- what are the "things" i have in my dinning room

et all

johnpoz

@netboy how many freaking devices do you have? That this sort of trouble makes it worth it..

I mean lets take your tablet example - how many tablets do you have?? And why would you care where they are in the house - I would assume they are tablets so they move about.

I name my ipad newipad, which is in my home.arpa domain.. Its called new, because it was a replacement for the old one that was just called ipad.. I have another android tablet.. I just call it P11, because that is its model number.. So its quite easy to know what is what..

As to stuff like smartplugs or lights.. I have quite a few wifi lightbulbs.. I just name them for where they are at.. Example there are 2 above the island in the kitchen.. I call them Island1 and island2.. There are 2 in the hallway, they are called hall1 and hall2.. Get the idea..

You know what I call the lightbulb in the lamp in the nightstand.. If you guest nightstand your getting the idea ;) If I had one on the nightstand in the guestroom.. I would maybe call it nightstand-guestroom

You want to take a guess to what the alexa in my guestroom is call ;) Alexa-guest.. Which is inline with the name of the alexa in the kitchen... You got it its called alexa-kitchen..

Gertjan

@netboy

Ah, ok, like ... let me find one ..... this :

But this is 'GUI' info, and isn't made available on the network.

IMHO : there is no such thing.
...
wait : there was : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFUlAQZB9Ng but scene was considered a huge security risk. But Ok, it's for the cinema.
If some one finds that same 'map' of your house, your done. You might as well give them the keys to your house right away.
If the network become huge, the admin make maps ^^ (paper, or with a drawing tools).

netboy

@johnpoz said in Naming convention for hostnames home network:

how many freaking devices do you have? That this sort of trouble makes it worth it

100;s YES it is worth it for me.

From your post you do not have a naming convention that you follow.

Can others chime in?

johnpoz

@netboy I do have a naming convention.. I name the devices either by where they are located, like the island, or by what device they are and their location, like my alexas..

How is that not a naming convention? You are just wanting to come up with some overly complicated whatever.. Maybe I should call the lightbulb in the hallway

lightbulb1-hallway-iw0-tplink.firstfloor.home.schaumburg.us.home.arpa

I could call my ipad ipad-air-apple.home.schaumburg.us.home.arpa

Instead of calling my printer brother.home.arpa - maybe I should name it printer-color-lazer-HL3170CDW-brother.garage.home.us.schaumburg.home.arpa

stephenw10

No strict convention here either. But anything important I have setup with static lease entries and a description useful enough I know what it is.

You could use an IPAM server. Probably overkill!

netboy

@johnpoz I think you are not understanding the post.

Each entity in the router has the following XML tags

mac
cid
ipaddr
hostname
descr

The ones that are NOT visible in your router is descr which can be used for detailed name so that you can query this in your private database.
YES this can be long and you will do this one-time when you register a new device. This is not-human-readable

The hostname must be simple ones (as you said) that you can understand. Example being

Synology
freakinglamponIsland
table-john
phone-greg

hostname is concise and visible. This is meant to be human-readable

You might not find this useful but I do.

netboy

@Gertjan Yes this is a good example - I want similar conventions for home network - hence things that will be useful for enterprise network might not be necessary for my home network and vice versa

AndyRH

Airplanes mostly. My domain is home.arpa
pfSense is Sentry
Proxmox is Wasp which hosts skymaster, warthog, hawkeye (oddly the only carrier plane) and others.
I also have shafted (minecraft)

You get the idea they have meaning to me, Sentry guards the boarder, Wasp (carrier) hosts others, Searcher looks for things and Shafted has mines.

SmartPlugs are unnamed and totally isolated, as they should be.

netboy

@stephenw10 Thanks.
My idea has worked out for me very well.
Here is a screenshot

I can filter by room, by manufacturer and model numbers as well