Getting Windows VNC hosts to show on the network scans

Question

Level 2

178 points

Getting Windows VNC hosts to show on the network scans

I have searched quite a bit and not found this info. I have Bonjour for Windows installed on several of our Windows PCs and also on the XP image that runs via Boot Camp on our MacBooks. But ARD scans, particularly Bonjour scans, do not pick them up. Doing "local network" or "network range" often shows a light blue icon and the ip address of such client, plus "screen sharing enabled", but no host name.

I understand there will probably never be a Windows ARD client with all the bells and whistles, but is there either a way to set Bonjour or a particular VNC server to announce the Windows hostname via Bonjour?

Thx

iMac G5, MBP C2D, iBook G4 @ home, Mac OS X (10.5.6), Manage 450 Macs, Xserve and ~100 PCs @ work

Posted on Jan 16, 2009 8:45 AM

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Answer 1

Feb 4, 2009 1:43 PM in response to MacToeKnee

Yes, currently there are no solutions to this.

I would though say to write Chicken of the VNC and tell them to get on the ball with a windows version.

-R

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Answer 2

MacToeKnee Author

Level 2

178 points

Feb 10, 2009 12:20 PM in response to Rodger Nugent2

thanks for answering, but I cannot take you at your word that there are "no solutions" to this. Perhaps none that you know of.

What irks me is that the functionality is 'almost' there - You can choose to have a DNS Name column in your scanner windows, and SOMETIMES it actually shows the DNS name of 3-4 Macs (out of average 300 in use at any one time). In all the rest, it just shows the IP address, for which there is already a column.

I have Bonjour installed on many of the PCs, so why can't Bonjour for Windows advertise the host name via Bonjour? It would add SO much functionality to ARD.
I am keeping this 'unanswered' in the hopes that this little bump to the top will be seen by more eyes.

Thanks

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Answer 3

lola66

Level 1

10 points

Mar 26, 2009 11:36 AM in response to MacToeKnee

I'm looking for the same functionality (thing) since my school board started installing PC's running Windows XP in classrooms.
I guess that Bonjour for Windows is providing "client" only features.. In the sense that's it's allowing a Windows based computer to browse the network for other Bonjour clients such as servers, or devices such as printers, but it's not providing "server" features such as advertising it's presence on the network like Mac based computers do.....
It's a bit odd.... really. Why not do both?

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Answer 4

May 15, 2009 2:54 PM in response to MacToeKnee

In order for the Windows hostnames to show up in ARD you need to have a DNS server that is setup to allow dynamic updates from client machines so that the Windows machines can register their name with the server. You could manually update your DNS records for all hosts if you have static addresses -your DNS should be setup with some default-style name resolution to aid readability anyway. But, since most admins use DHCP for their client setups, a dynamic DNS server that is properly configured will allow this to happen without admin intervention.

It is entirely possible to do this with the ISC BIND server or with a Microsoft DNS server. You would then not need BonJour -which is intended for service broadcast and discovery and which can also be configured with a dynamic DNS server- installed on the Windows clients for name resolution as that functionality would be duplicated by a service that runs natively on Windows.

There is an additional benefit of DNS-based Service Discovery to Mac clients in that any service that is running on a server or client can be discovered by BonJour capable apps like iTunes or Safari once it is properly configured on the DNS server, especially if you are working with a highly complex, multi-subnet, network. A working solution for your issue can be found here: http://www.dns-sd.org.

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Answer 5

MacToeKnee Author

Level 2

178 points

May 28, 2009 3:56 AM in response to Mabel O'Farrell

My reverse-dns was lacking, as it turns out. I have an AD-integrated DNS with DHCP on Win2003 servers. None of the diagnostics turned up any problems, but when I got the dynamic updates going, the Windows hostnames started showing up on the IP scans. It would be nice if they'd show up on the Bonjour scans if for no other reason than it's the primary window I leave open to see hosts come on a leave the network (high school, 300 laptops constantly booting and shutting down).

The biggest problem I have now is that Macs don't seem to register and update their DNS as well as Windows computers do -- and the Windows servers can't seem to hand out the IP addresses consistently, so I have the wrong Mac DNS name showing up after just a few hours. A check of the reverse DNS shows multiple Mac entries for many IP addresses. I've been experimenting with different settings for scavenging, lease times, the dynamic dns, setting the Xserve as a secondary DNS, nothing seems to help. Well, that's topic for another question. This one is solved.

Thanks for your help.

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