Re: Router Setup - What do YOU use for your router's name? Why?

[Mike S.]

On Thu, 24 May 2007 07:32:48 -0700, Chris H wrote:
> Use whatever you like. It doesn't matter.

That's my whole question to you experts.

If it doesn't matter what the router NAME is, then why does the Linksys
router setup REQUIRE a router name to be entered?

[Burkhard Ott]

Am Thu, 24 May 2007 14:42:23 +0000 schrieb Mike S.:

> If it doesn't matter what the router NAME is, then why does the Linksys
> router setup REQUIRE a router name to be entered?

OK, you need to call him sausage or crabpot.
You also could google for man hostname.

[Jeff Liebermann]

"Mike S." <n0yii@sbcglobal.net> hath wroth:

>On Thu, 24 May 2007 07:32:48 -0700, Chris H wrote:
>> Use whatever you like. It doesn't matter.
>
>That's my whole question to you experts.
>
>If it doesn't matter what the router NAME is, then why does the Linksys
>router setup REQUIRE a router name to be entered?

Easy. It's like kids. They can function just as well without a name.
You can also change their name at any time without serious damage.
However, if you try to manage your kids without a name for very long,
you will eventually run into a situation where a name is required. [1]

Also, think of the alternative. Would you prefer to identify your
kids or routers by numbers? Yech. It also begs the question, why
would you want to run your kids or router without a name? Is this
some form of security by obscurity? I usually put in something to
identify the device, location, or customer for logging and never have
left it blank. It's handy on reports.

I came in late in this discussion. What model Linksys, hardware
version, and firmware release are you talking about?

Looking at a typical router, in this case the WRT54G v8 at:
<http://www.linksysdata.com/ui/WRT54G/v8/8.00.0/basic.htm>
The "router name" field is there in all WAN configurations. If I
blank it out, it complains that there has to be a name. Yep, you're
correct.

My best guess(tm) is that a "router name" is necessary to identify the
router in syslog, SNMP, or logs. The logging routine probably blew up
if the field were left blank, so it became a requirement. It might
also show up as a NETBIOS name if the router has a built in Windoze
print server. (Just a guess).



[1] It was customary in societies with high infant mortality rates, to
not name the kids until they were sure to survive. That was usually
several years into childhood. Perhaps we should do the same with
cheap commodity routers that have a similar high infant mortality
problem?

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

[David]

>
>
> [1] It was customary in societies with high infant mortality rates, to
> not name the kids until they were sure to survive. That was usually
> several years into childhood. Perhaps we should do the same with
> cheap commodity routers that have a similar high infant mortality
> problem?
>

Gosh my router would have to be named "old fart"

[Jeff Liebermann]

David <youcantoo@findmoore.net> hath wroth:

>> [1] It was customary in societies with high infant mortality rates, to
>> not name the kids until they were sure to survive. That was usually
>> several years into childhood. Perhaps we should do the same with
>> cheap commodity routers that have a similar high infant mortality
>> problem?

>Gosh my router would have to be named "old fart"

Your router has tubes, condensers, Leyden jars, a Jacobs Ladder, and
is powered by a dynamotor?

There are three things wrong with your router name.

1. It has a space in the name. This very bad as many utilities still
get confused by the imbedded IFS. I suggest "old_fart" instead.

2. In boating, renaming a vessel is considered an invitation to
disaster. Same with routers. You should not rename your router or
your will surely be visited by crashes, component failures, lightning
hits, exploits, or firmware upgrades. If you had named your router in
its infancy, you would not have considered "old_fart" as a suitable
name for a young router. Therefore, I deduce that you've changed the
name and the router will soon be visited by divine retribution.

3. The name "old_fart" is severely lacking in imagination. Network
host and device naming has been the subject of many usenet discussions
and at least one RFC. I won't go there. Suffice to suggest that you
should consider a more creative naming scheme. For example, Apple
names their conference rooms after cartoon characters. I was naming
my printers after former Soviet premiers. My servers were named after
the 7 deadly sins, but I soon ran out and had to invent some new sins.
Lately, I've switched to puns and intentional mis-spellings, which has
caused no end of syntactic distress. Bad idea. If you're going to
rename your router, I strongly suggest you follow the proper nautical
ritual (or invent your own):
<http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm>


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

[Meso]

On Thu, 24 May 2007 16:57:10 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:

>David <youcantoo@findmoore.net> hath wroth:
>
>>> [1] It was customary in societies with high infant mortality rates, to
>>> not name the kids until they were sure to survive. That was usually
>>> several years into childhood. Perhaps we should do the same with
>>> cheap commodity routers that have a similar high infant mortality
>>> problem?
>
>>Gosh my router would have to be named "old fart"
>
And it communicates via spark gap transmission.... or styrofoam cups
and string for better security.
>Your router has tubes, condensers, Leyden jars, a Jacobs Ladder, and
>is powered by a dynamotor?
>
>There are three things wrong with your router name.
>
>1. It has a space in the name. This very bad as many utilities still
>get confused by the imbedded IFS. I suggest "old_fart" instead.
>
>2. In boating, renaming a vessel is considered an invitation to
>disaster. Same with routers. You should not rename your router or
>your will surely be visited by crashes, component failures, lightning
>hits, exploits, or firmware upgrades. If you had named your router in
>its infancy, you would not have considered "old_fart" as a suitable
>name for a young router. Therefore, I deduce that you've changed the
>name and the router will soon be visited by divine retribution.
>
>3. The name "old_fart" is severely lacking in imagination. Network
>host and device naming has been the subject of many usenet discussions
>and at least one RFC. I won't go there. Suffice to suggest that you
>should consider a more creative naming scheme. For example, Apple
>names their conference rooms after cartoon characters. I was naming
>my printers after former Soviet premiers. My servers were named after
>the 7 deadly sins, but I soon ran out and had to invent some new sins.
>Lately, I've switched to puns and intentional mis-spellings, which has
>caused no end of syntactic distress. Bad idea. If you're going to
>rename your router, I strongly suggest you follow the proper nautical
>ritual (or invent your own):
><http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/rename.htm>