Newbie question - means to send messages to stations through tcp/ip

[peaceatwork]

I have a program that sends pre-configured messages from one station to others through tcp/ip ports.
Currently, the receivers are identified through ip address.
However, due to DHCP, we need to keep recalculating the receiver lists after each receiver gets a new IP address.

Question-

Can we identify the receiver through their MAC address or Machine name instead?
Are those identifiers unique and static?
any issues? why would the original programmers use IP addresses to address a message when we had to keep updating it because of DHCP?

thanks.

 

[robertjo24]

Can you list the machine names instead of IP addresses in the main program? The machine would resolve the IP address for each end point so static addresses would not be necessary.

 

[peaceatwork]

Thank you, Robert.
Yes, I can change the program to list the machine names in the recipient list but I was just wondering if you can identify a receiver by their machine name and it will still send to them successfully.
this is a peer-to-peer communication program.
thanks!

 

[robertjo24]

Is the receiver device a PC or a stand-alone device/appliance?
I guess the next question would be are you required to use DHCP, or can you be assigned static IP addresses outside your DHCP scope? If the receiver device has the capability to negotiate and receive a DHCP address, the DHCP server should be able to associate it to the hostname or MAC. The main program (I assume running on some sort of computer) should be able to resolve the IP address by the name associated to that IP address in the DHCP server. The main machine would find this through your local DNS.

 

[peaceatwork]

Thank you.

The receiver runs on a station/PC on the same the network as the sending station but, in the near future, I am looking to send the signal/data pack to an external, 3rd party receiver out in the internet.
I take it that would take an IP address, right?

We provide this program as as product to clients. And as such, the environment where it runs will vary.
We do not want to hassle the IT dept by making them change their receivers to static IP addresses.

I am not sure if the receiver program can negotiate with the DHCP server but I think the program works peer-to-peer,
that is, in the program data folder, there is a .dat file that contains a set message and a list of IP addresses that identifies the receivers and sends to them directly.
We do have a logic that allows for recalculating the new IP addresses but this eats up CPU usage each time the receivers get a new IP address. trying to fix that now.

Again, sorry, I am a newbie and I am trying to understand my program and these concepts but
it might be that the signal is sent through the DHCP server to find its receivers in which case the name conversion can take place ("capability to negotiate and receive a DHCP address").

I just wanted to ensure that if I just list the receiver by machine name, the sending client program on the station can find them in the network.
I am almost positive that machine names are always unique and no two stations can have the same machine name.
also that machine names will not change.

oh, and I am learning programming now to better master the program and provide better tech support.

thanks....

 

[chieftan]

Could you not set the DHCP up to send a specified IP address via the MAC address? You should be able to do that then you know the endpoints will have the same IP address....

 

[peaceatwork]

hi,

as this is a program that is provided to clients for a various sites and technical ability/time at hand,
we wanted a method that would require the least amount of work for their IT team.
in short, we don't want to ask their team to anything else but install it and it will work,
no need for them to any changes or set ups...
hope that makes sense.