We have developed a device that is connected to our clients network and we would like to be able to get its ip or set the ip without knowing its ip.
The device has a Linux OS.
We can save the device MAC Address before giving it to customers. We can program a service to broadcast the device IP and MAC Address to a certain IP or port/socket. We can listen to a certain port/socket for commands. Is this the right direction? Should we investigate in other network protocols other than TCP/IP?
We have seen this feature in hardware/device manufacturers provide a CD with a software that can locate their devices on a network even if they have been newly added to the network without network or ip configuration.
Best regards,
Hussam Kazah
Using propriety broadcasting protocol is a very common technique for detecting devices on network without knowing it's name. However there's a better option:
UPNP, is an excellent protocol for achieving your goals. libupnp can get you started in no time.