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    Naming convention for hostnames home network

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    • GertjanG
      Gertjan @netboy
      last edited by

      @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.

      No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
      Edit : and where are the logs ??

      N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • N
        netboy @Gertjan
        last edited by 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

        johnpozJ GertjanG 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @netboy
          last edited by

          @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..

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

          N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • GertjanG
            Gertjan @netboy
            last edited by

            @netboy

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

            dfadbcac-a57f-4b77-aa1e-d430c79db3fc-image.png

            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).

            No "help me" PM's please. Use the forum, the community will thank you.
            Edit : and where are the logs ??

            N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • N
              netboy @johnpoz
              last edited by

              @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?

              johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • johnpozJ
                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @netboy
                last edited by

                @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

                An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

                N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • stephenw10S
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by

                  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! 😉

                  N 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • N
                    netboy @johnpoz
                    last edited by 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.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • N
                      netboy @Gertjan
                      last edited by 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

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • AndyRHA
                        AndyRH
                        last edited by

                        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.

                        o||||o
                        7100-1u

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                        • N
                          netboy @stephenw10
                          last edited by netboy

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

                          bb3e79a4-539e-457a-b37d-44100222987d-image.png

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

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