RE: MAC Address

I think using static IP addresses is your best option.  You can still use
DHCP if you like, and just have DHCP always assign the same IP address to
the same unit.

If IP address just won't work, have a unique ID of some sort that's stored
on each unit and have it transmit.   I wouldn't use the MAC address for
this, but rather a number or string stored in a file on the unit.   That
way, if a unit breaks down, you can replace it with another one and pick
right up where you left off.

Another idea might be to use an SSL client certificate to keep each unit
separate.   That assumes, of course, that your RF devices are SSL-capable,
but since it's SOOO easy to intercept RF signals, it seems like adding
encryption wouldn't be a bad idea if security is any kind of concern at
all...


On Fri, 21 Nov 2003, Andy Holmer wrote:

> I must admit that I didn't think about a proxy or a firewall changing
> the MAC address in the packet.  Maybe I should take a step back and
> explain a little more of the picture.
>
> I have RF devices that connect to an RPG socket program.  The program
> monitors an ERP database file for records to send to the handheld.  The
> ERP has a naming convention that is uses for processing, and I need to
> be sure that the device that connects receives only the records that
> were intended for it.  I am also writing the client/device piece so I
> had been retrieving the MAC address with the client program and sending
> it to the RPG program for a match.  The problem with that is if I
> support 5 platforms, I need to write the MAC retrieval piece 5 times, so
> I wondered about putting the logic back on the server in the RPG
> program.  So I guess my options are:
>
> 1) Use IP address and require that all connecting devices have static
> IPs
> 2) Write the MAC retrieval portion of code for all the different client
> platforms and send it as text to the socket program.
> 3) Some RPG scheme that hasn't been introduced yet.......
>