ARD DNS Name Does not match Name

Question

Level 1

16 points

ARD DNS Name Does not match Name

In ARD Admin 3.5.1, 3.5.2 and 3.6 the listed Client Name and the listed DNS Name don't match.

All clients are 10.6.8v1.1 OS.

I verified that all DNS is showing up correctly on our DHCP server and on our DNS servers.

When I go into Sharing preferences on a client which is showing up with the wrong DNS in ARD, local hostname shows correctly yet under File Sharing is shows access to the client from a web address which is incorrect and from a local hostname which is correct.

So For example, I go into Sharing Preferences and change the name of the computer to TEST123

The local hostname changes to TEST123.local yet under File Sharing: On it says:

Other users can access shared folders on this computer, and administrators all volumes, at afp://XYZ321.domain.org/ or “TEST123”

XYZ312 is a DNS name for another unrelated computer on the network.

When I go into Terminal, Terminal also shows

XYZ321:~ localuser$

When it should say

TEST123:~ localuser$

When I type hostname in terminal it comes back with

XYZ321.domain.org instead of TEST123.domain.org

So how do I fix this issue for 50 computers?

Thanks for any assistance.

Server, Mac OS X (10.6.8), Mac Mini

Posted on Aug 8, 2012 1:49 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 8, 2012 6:56 PM in response to Layne_Staley

If you find out how to get the ARD DNS name to be accurate, let me know. That is is problem for at least the past ten years and probably more. I have just ignored it since everything works in spite of the incorrect DNS name.

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Answer 2

TeenTitan

Level 4

2,640 points

Aug 10, 2012 1:16 AM in response to Layne_Staley

when using the terminal of your effected 'test' machine. have you tried the fallowing commands?

sudo scutil --get HostName

sudo scutil --get LocalHostName

sudo scutil --get ComputerName

what do the return?

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Answer 3

chicster

Level 2

204 points

Aug 13, 2012 11:34 AM in response to TeenTitan

just to be sure not overlooking something simple, I can reproduce that behavior by going to System Preferences, Sharing, and leaving Computer Name at the top alone, clicking edit, typing in another name. This gives me a different computer name than Local Host Name. Have you confirmed those are the same in System Preferences/Sharing?

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Answer 4

Layne_Staley Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 22, 2012 9:13 AM in response to TeenTitan

All 3 commands return the correct name.

Looking at the "DNS Name" in ARD is not correct.

So all commands return TEST123.

When I look at TEST123 in ARD, it shows XYZ321.domain.org for the DNS Name

TeenTitan wrote:

when using the terminal of your effected 'test' machine. have you tried the fallowing commands?

sudo scutil --get HostName

sudo scutil --get LocalHostName

sudo scutil --get ComputerName

what do the return?

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Answer 5

Layne_Staley Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 22, 2012 9:21 AM in response to chicster

I was actually hoping there was some way to edit Sharing prefs to fix the issue.

I tried changing the Local Hostname for troubleshooting via the "Edit..." under Computer Name: and it had no affect on the ARD DNS Name.

Continuing with my examples above, Sharing Prefs show:

Computer Name: TEST123

Computers on your local network can access your computer at: TEST123.local

Under File Sharing on, it says:

Other users can access shared folders on this computer, and administrators all volumes, at afp://XYZ321.domain.org/ or “TEST123” even when changing the Local Hostname.

Computer Name in ARD: TEST123

DNS Name in ARD: XYZ321.domain.org

The DNS Name in ARD does match the "afp://XYZ321.domain.org/" under "File Sharing: On" in the Sharing prefs.

Thanks for everyone's input and thanks in advance for any further assistance.

chicster wrote:

just to be sure not overlooking something simple, I can reproduce that behavior by going to System Preferences, Sharing, and leaving Computer Name at the top alone, clicking edit, typing in another name. This gives me a different computer name than Local Host Name. Have you confirmed those are the same in System Preferences/Sharing?

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Answer 6

chicster

Level 2

204 points

Aug 22, 2012 9:26 AM in response to Layne_Staley

Layne,

I have several computers in the all computers list that have a different DNS name from computer name. I guess one question is has it impacted you? As Joe Pyrdek noted, it doesn't seem to have an effect for what I do.

Now, I know why mine do that - our DNS still has the IP of the computer as a switch on the network, even though that switch no longer uses it. So it is definitely DNS causing it. I would look there again. And, can you temporarily manually give the computer a different IP and see if that resolves the problem OR gives it a still different name? And if you get info on the computer in ARD, and erase the dns entry, does it come back?

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Answer 7

Layne_Staley Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 22, 2012 9:53 AM in response to chicster

I have no idea if it matters actually, yet I have all sorts of weird issues with ARD so I'd like to make sure it's working as expected as much as possible.

Changing IP addresses and adding a static seems to fix it, so my guess is it's DHCP/DNS related. I will look there.

Update: By "fix it", I mean it changes:

"Other users can access shared folders on this computer, and administrators all volumes, at afp://192.168.111.12 (Actual, correct Static IP) or “ABC123”."

When I reset to DHCP with a new IP, the old DNS name reappears under:

"Other users can access shared folders on this computer, and administrators all volumes, at afp://XYZ321.domain.org or “ABC123”."

I can change it manually in ARD, yet I'm unsure how that solves anything...

Thanks.

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Answer 8

Layne_Staley Author

Level 1

16 points

Aug 22, 2012 9:51 AM in response to Layne_Staley

I guess it isnt a big deal yet I'm always concerned little items like this may be symptoms of a larger issue....

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Answer 9

Jon P

Level 1

100 points

Jan 12, 2013 12:17 AM in response to Layne_Staley

Have you tried turning off one of the machines in question and having your DNS Admin delete the DNS record for it, then starting it up to see what populates when it fetches a new lease?

Are these machines mobile?

Do any use any type of VPN?

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Answer 10

Jon P

Level 1

100 points

Jan 12, 2013 12:24 AM in response to Layne_Staley

Also see this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2756351?answerId=13109453022#13109453022

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Answer 11

Layne_Staley Author

Level 1

16 points

Jan 23, 2013 7:13 AM in response to Jon P

It doesnt really affect anything and I got Casper Suite now so I can better manage Macs on the network.

Thanks for your input.

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Answer 12

Mar 4, 2013 3:51 AM in response to Layne_Staley

I too had a similar issue and agree it was no big deal but just midly annoying (I guess I'm a****y retentive)

Anyway I did eventually find the answer, well for me anyway :-)

It turns out the DNS name is stored in the profile preference when first added but then never updated again if it is changed, to reset this I deleted the com.apple.RemoteDesktop.plist in my ~/Library/Preferences folder.

The down side on this is that you have to re-set up all your prefernces so you may not consider it worth the bother.

Regards,

Shawn

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Answer 13

Mar 26, 2013 10:53 AM in response to Layne_Staley

In ARD, if you right-click on the computer and choose Get Info from the list, then click Edit, you can change the DNS Name. This name comes up when you first add the workstation and is stored in the ARD files. It is the DNS name at the time of entry, not the current DNS name.

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Answer 14

Mar 27, 2013 2:05 AM in response to TonyPlack

Nice one Tony....

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Answer 15

Oct 22, 2013 1:00 PM in response to Layne_Staley

TonyPlack's solution for manually editing using Get Info inside of ARD is a nice way to resolve this issue that has been bugging me literally for years.

Apple also has a well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful kbase article here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2230

It's unhelpful because it uses the incorrect flag in the systemsetup command. The correct command should be:

systemsetup -setcomputername name

Having this command handy opens the door for creating a function to batch-rename a large group of systems, such as piping in the output of a "scutil --get LocalHostName" command into it (so your ComputerName actually matches up with the Bonjour Name).

Does anybody know who to contact at Apple about getting their faulty kbase article updated?

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