Josh Koffman wrote:
> Hi all. So I've been thinking about all sorts of little embedded
> Ethernet projects I want to do (someday when I am a better
> programmer), and one thing keeps jumping out at me: adressing. Sure,
> it's easy to configure a computer to access a network becuase it has a
> screen and a keyboard. The devices I want to build are to be tiny and
> won't have the space for all sorts of switches and an LCD (or the cost
> come to think of it). So how to recognize these devices across the
> network?

One approach I've used for small wireless devices, where there's a 
similar problem:

Include at least one dedicated switch, or multi-button combination, or 
something like that - a way to trigger a "Yo" message.

When a device says "Yo," it's sent broadcast.

At the administrative machine (e.g., Windows), run a client program that 
listens for "Yo" messages and marks down the IP addresses they came 
from.  It then presents them in a list sorted by time received, and lets 
you type a display name for each.

When you get one or more new devices you want to add to the network, you 
just start up the client app, then go around plugging in devices and 
triggering the "Yo" message on each device.  Write down the order you 
set them up, if necessary, or just do them in some memorable order. 
When you get back, name the devices you just added.

 From then on, you can do whatever you like with those display names - 
send them back to the remote device, publish them to a well-known 
directory, whatever.  You can also send pings out to each device on some 
schedule to see if they're all still there.
-- 
Timothy J. Weber
http://timothyweber.org
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