Auto-Discovery Access Mode
Can't find your Device Server in the device list of the auto-discovery mode? The status icon is grayed indicating that the IP-address of this DS is "unreachable"? See troubleshooting!
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Auto-discovery access mode is selected by choosing "Local Device Servers (Auto-discovery by broadcast)" from the access mode drop-down box , located at the top of the DS Manager's main window .
In this mode the DS Manager finds all local Device Servers* automatically. Device Servers located behind the routers (remote Device Servers) cannot be auto-discovered by the DS Manager because broadcast UDP datagrams used to find the Device Servers on the network cannot pass through routers. Address book access mode should be used to work with remote Device Servers.
All discovered Device Servers are displayed in the device list . Each DS is uniquely identified by its MAC-address which is different for every DS manufactured. The device list will correctly display all local Device Servers even if some of them have the same IP-address, as well as devices whose IP-address is unreachable. Correctly configured IP-address is not required for the DS Manager to be able to access local Device Servers in the auto-discovery mode (see broadcast access for more information).
Device list is updated each time Refresh button is pressed. Only Device Servers that have replied to the DS Manager's request appear in the list, the DS Manager does not "remember" previous refresh results. Status area under the device list displays extended status information for the DS selected in the list .
In the auto-discovery mode the device list has the following fields:
| • | DS status icon. See DS status icons for more information. |
| • | MAC-address of the DS. It is the MAC, not the IP-address, that uniquely identifies each DS in the list. |
| • | IP-address of the DS. Comment next to the IP-address shows that this device is local (same for all devices in the list since auto-discovery mode only shows local Device Servers). If the DS is running with DHCP enabled the note "DHCP" is also displayed next to the IP-address (as in line 2 of the screenshot above). As you can see from the screenshot, correct IP-address is not required for the DS to be discovered. IP-address in line 4 is invalid yet the DS Manager can "see" this DS as well. |
| • | Owner name and device name fields displays the data from the Owner Name (ON) and Device Name (DN) settings of the DS. The purpose of these settings is to simplify distinguishing between the Device Servers in the device list. |
Device list of the auto-discovery mode is sorted by MAC-address, then by IP-address. You can change the sorting order by clicking on any of the headers.
Programmer's info:
When the Refresh button is pressed the DS Manager sends out a broadcast Echo (X) command . This command reaches all local Device Servers, even the ones with unreachable IP-address. Devices shown in the device list are those that have replied to the broadcast
* I.e. the Device Servers located on the same network segment. The definition of the network segment implies that there are only network hubs (and no routers, bridges, firewalls, etc.) between the PC and all other devices on the segment.