Device Identification and renaming
Hi, I'm struggling with device renames on a Firewalla Blue. It's really host names, not device names.
Not on the Firewalla side - for devices that I know don't really need or want a name on themselves, it's fine (Firewalla sees yv123124 from my PVR, I can rename it to PVR in the Firewalla app)
I actually have two problems that feel related.
- First one is allocation of host names. I run into this problem:
- New build of a device, installing Linux, connected to the network
- Installer defaults host name of DietPi
- After install, I rename it Dave
- In Firewalla, I now have DietPi as a new device, as it detected it before the host name changed
I know I can rename it, like my PVR, but I would much rather have some way to re-scan it and have the name corrected. This is more down to volume - I tinker with new machines a lot.
This brings me on to the second problem:
My Firewalla app is reporting 5 firewalla boxes, with different IP addresses. Only one is active, and that's reported correctly. But it keeps dropping off the network (varying reasons, not a Firewalla problem), and getting a different IP address from the DHCP server on the router. Other machines are duplicating themselves as well, with different IP addresses.
Have I set something up incorrectly, so that Firewalla is not picking up the new IPs and dropping the old one for the same device? I find it odd because some devices do not have the problem (a Nest camera gets allocated a new IP but doesn't duplicate) Or is this to be expected?
I suspect I'm completely missing something somewhere, but I can't find a doc that covers it. I will take "RTFM" as a valid answer if it's accompanied by the link to the thing I've missed!
TIA, Nic
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It should rescan and update the name after a while. The time depends on how Firewalla captures the new name. (DHCP, Bonjour, Windows SSDP and etc.)
Will have team to double check the testing environment.
For the second problem, where did you see the 5 Firewalla boxes? Is it from the router app/web portal or Firewalla app? A screenshot could help (you can send to help@firewalla.com)
There is one side effect of Firewalla simple mode, is that because Firewalla simple mode uses arp spoofing to redirect traffic, router may get confused that all devices look like Firewalla. So you may find many devices are labeled as Firewalla in the router's portal.
Melvin
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Hi, thanks for the response, and I apologise for being slow to respond.
It does not look like Firewalla is rescanning at all. I have devices with the wrong name (and all that's changed on their network settings is the host name), weeks after the name change.
So a bit more detail: Single network 192.168.1.0, with some fixed IP addresses and dhcp done by the router ranging from 160 to 250. There was a power cut 5 days ago, so everything was restarted then, and I have not renamed anything
- Firewalla on 230 - correct
- ensor on 203 - correct
- LGSmartTV on 111 - wrong name (but it was correct before the power cut)
- avon on 228 - correct
- Firewalla on 221 - no, it's not, there is no device there at all
- Android on 214 - wrong name (but has always been consistently wrong)
I don't know where the "last seen today" is from either. It's possible 211 may have been allocated to one of two mobile devices recently and they've dropped out and then picked up new numbers when they returned to the house, but that was yesterday, not today.
"Correct" matches what the router says, and the router is not seeing 221
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