Client list wonky

[claymoh]

There is something strange in the client list. A good example is the refresh spinner. In the asus version it is not there, but in the merlin version it permanently spins. Maybe that is planned to show it is constantly searching? I tried a reboot a few times, and more strangeness. The client was not always complete, and in fact sometimes is missing the computer that is hardlined to one of the lan ports. The name list will not update all the names (some stay as macs, even though they are statics). I do have a LOT of clients, usually upwards of 20 or more. Is it possible there is some timeout on the loop that updates this data, so it works fine for most, but in my case it exceeds something? I thought at first it was a recent development, but I think I was fooled by the randomness that shows each reboot or possibly access order after a reboot. Yet another strange symptom is the traffic monitor daily. I would swear it used to show all the DHCP static names. Now it seems to only show a couple, and the rest are all IP's or IP's in parens, but very few have their names listed. I know this is probably not a high priority issue, but if it can be added to some list that would be appreciated. I use the traffic monitor and client list to keep track of what is accessing the router, so this is hindering that task.

 

[rlcronin]

Seconded. I've noticed this behavior as well but have been ignoring it. Worth looking into on a rainy day.
--
bc

 

[jim769]

I agree it needs work but here it does work it shows all connected clients it just takes a long time to refresh itself sometimes up to 5 minutes. I wish Merlin could find a fix for it.

 

[RMerlin]

I agree it needs work but here it does work it shows all connected clients it just takes a long time to refresh itself sometimes up to 5 minutes. I wish Merlin could find a fix for it.

The long time is not a bug, it's just the way it works. Networkmap tries to connect to various ports on each detected devices as it tries to determine if it's a computer, a router, if it has a web interface, etc... So, near 1 minute per device is normal. A network with 10-20 devices might potentially take near 10 minutes to fully scan.

I added the spinner because people were previously looking at the list, and if they didn't see all the information within a minute they expected the networkmap to be completely broken, when it simply hadn't finished scanning the network yet.

 

[claymoh]

So do I need to wait "while" the display is up and spinning? I can easily try a long wait will doing other stuff as a test.

 

[claymoh]

Also what about the list itself is incomplete and varies? The most disconcerting was when the hardlined computer was not in the list. Also the traffic monitor (merlin adds which I loved) rarely displays names anymore, but just IP's or IP's in parens. The named ones almost seem to be exclusively clients that are tagged (correctly) as computers in the client display. I love the features added, and I can tell the bugs are highly likely back in the asus code, since I see the same "sort" of symptoms in the latest official release.

 

[RMerlin]

Also what about the list itself is incomplete and varies? The most disconcerting was when the hardlined computer was not in the list. Also the traffic monitor (merlin adds which I loved) rarely displays names anymore, but just IP's or IP's in parens. The named ones almost seem to be exclusively clients that are tagged (correctly) as computers in the client display. I love the features added, and I can tell the bugs are highly likely back in the asus code, since I see the same "sort" of symptoms in the latest official release.

For names to be resolved, you need to either:

a) Have it entered on the DHCP reservation page, or
b) Wait for the client DHCP lease to be renewed.

Otherwise, if the device already had its own lease, the router won't be able to know its hostname until the device requests for a lease, at which point it will also inform the router of its hostname.

 

[janosek]

I just wanted to add my two cents to Claymoh's.

I found that the client list used to work a lot better in the 2XX series of firmware. The clients used to resolve quickly and completely. Something changed for the worse since then.

 

[claymoh]

Tried a REALLY long time, like overnight. It still left a somewhat random unknown like before.

 

[claymoh]

For names to be resolved, you need to either:

a) Have it entered on the DHCP reservation page, or
b) Wait for the client DHCP lease to be renewed.

Otherwise, if the device already had its own lease, the router won't be able to know its hostname until the device requests for a lease, at which point it will also inform the router of its hostname.

Yes, I have all the addresses listed in my DCHP. I am 100% static routed. That is what surprised me. It seems to have been slowly degrading, although that could be a red herring. Almost like "something" is taking longer and some timeout is stopping (or maybe pushing it back to gthe top?) the update as it rolls through the list. I can see things updating (like the icons will switch to a PC) in the list, but it seems to only happen near start of list, never deep down the list.

 

[Keenan]

I did a search for "client list refresh" and this was the first thread that came up so apologies for dragging up a somewhat stale thread.

I didn't see it clarified above, but does the spinning wheel icon continue endlessly, or does it eventually stop? It doesn't really matter one way or the other to me, I just wanted to be sure that the firmware was working properly and there was not something "hanging it up", so to speak.

Thanks

Using -> 3.0.0.4.374.35_4-sdk5

 

[RMerlin]

I did a search for "client list refresh" and this was the first thread that came up so apologies for dragging up a somewhat stale thread.

I didn't see it clarified above, but does the spinning wheel icon continue endlessly, or does it eventually stop? It doesn't really matter one way or the other to me, I just wanted to be sure that the firmware was working properly and there was not something "hanging it up", so to speak.

Thanks

Using -> 3.0.0.4.374.35_4-sdk5

This issue has been resolved. See this thread: http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=14332

 

[Keenan]

This issue has been resolved. See this thread: http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=14332

Ah, perfect, thank you!

 

[highwire]

I think I discovered one of the culprits in my client list "wonkiness" - Apple's "Bonjour Sleep Proxy feature."

Essentially, when a computer goes to sleep, the router (in this case my Apple Extreme Base Station (AEBS), which is in bridge mode with DHCP and NAT disabled), tells the DHCP server that its MAC address is paired with the computer's IP address, replacing the computer's MAC address.

The idea is that the next time someone tries to talk to the (sleeping) computer, the packets go to the AEBS instead of the sleeping computer, and then the AEBS sends a WOL magic packet to the computer to wake it up.

With Tomato firmware, the client list would show all of my sleeping computers with a MAC address identical to that of the AEBS paired with their IP address. As soon as the computer woke up, the computer's MAC address would replace that of the AEBS.

The ASUS firmware though appears to not allow the multiple occurrences of the same MAC address (in this case that of my AEBS) with many different IP addresses. Whichever computer goes to sleep last gets its name bound against the MAC address/IP address of the AEBS in the client list, and computer's entry is kind of funky - wrong IP address, or wrong name, or missing entirely - not entirely deterministic. So, if my Mac mini goes to sleep last, it's name shows up in the client list against the AEBS's MAC address and IP address.

I'm running 3.0.0.4.374.36_beta1 (Merlin build).

 

[KAD]

the client list can have multiple devices with the same mac address

anything behind a bridge will get the same mac address

I've also seen the client list, over write a client name, like you describe

however the difference, is that I don't own any apple products
also don't have itunes / bonjour service running on any PC in my network