[plug] Semi OT - OS X "Network Discovery" and SLP

[Timothy White]

Ok, I have a little problem. I'm building a "NAS" box (Network Area
Storage) that is designed to automate backups on a network. The target
network is obviously small home networks, unix based of course :p

I'm specifically setting it up for a OS X based home network, with 1/2
the computers running off an airport express basestation.

The issue I'm trying to work out (while still building the prototype,
rather than getting there and hitting this issue I obviously don't
have here), his how to "address" the other machines. It appears they
get their IP address via DHCP from the airport, but from what I've
read, this doesn't give the same IP to the same computer ever time. I
/could/ reconfigure them to have static, but really don't want to.
In my network, I run a private DNS server on a .lan "TLD", so I can
use hostnames to access other machines regardless of IP address.

Firstly, does anyone know if it's possible to get the airport to do
something like this? (I don't really want to run a DNS server on the
backup box, as the network isn't allowed to rely on the backup
machine).

If not, does anyone know if for example the SLP protocol will help me?
My small reading and playing with it (on my linux server) suggests
that if each OS X machine is broadcasting it's ip address as a
service, then I can probably get it from that, but I have no idea.

I know the windows networks had netbios, where one computer just took
responsibility for keeping all the ip/name pairs, and if it went down,
another would take over, using broadcasts and replies to communicate
and keep up to date. Does OS X have something like this, or is that
SLP?

Hopefully someone knows how to answer my simple question. Under OS X,
how can I get an ip address from a hostname, of another machine on the
local network?

Thanks

Tim
p.s. It's OT, because the machine that will need the ip/hostname
resolving, is a Linux box! :D

p.p.s. When it's all finished, I'll be realised a HOW-TO and code so
other's can also setup old machines as NAS "backup" boxes... Ideally
suited to those Compaq Deskpro's that Computers Angles have... :p
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