Buehler, Martin wrote:

> when using fixed ip, i can use ping to check if a computer is up and
> running.
> if i have dynamic ip, i cannot do this as i do not know the actual ip.
> is there a way to do something like ping, but directly going to the mac
> address instead of the ip?

I think this depends a bit what IP address you are talking about,
especially whether it is a public or a private address.

For a public address, a dynamic DNS registry is probably the easiest way.
You don't use the IP address to access the computer, you use the name and
keep the dynamic DNS table updated by a tool that runs on the computer
itself.

For a private address, dynamic DNS doesn't work easily and scanning may be
one way. Often you can limit the range of possible IP addresses. Trying to
make the computer respond to some kind of broadcast packet may be another.

Gerhard

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