MAC NameServer

The MAC NameServer application was designed to be a very simple MAC to IP address mapping utility.

What MacNS will do

- MacNS will regularly scan the subnet it sits on, and records the corresponding MAC addresses.
- MacNS saves these in a LMHOSTS-like file, so that the local machine can use this information to retrieve the IP address corresponding to a MAC address.
- MacNS will use processor time and network bandwidth when run. It will take up space on your hard disk, even when it is not running.

What MacNS will NOT do

- MacNS will not work on Linux, Mono, Macintosh, iPhone, or Google Phone. MacNS uses the "SendARP" API which is only available in Windows.
- MacNS will not work outside the local subnet. The SendARP command will not retrieve - MAC addresses across routers.
- MacNS will not react immediately to IP address changes. MacNS slowly scans the network, and will only discover IP changes when it stumbles upon a new ARP entry.
- MacNS will not try to be kind to your network administrator. MacNS scans the network. It may be detected as an intrusion, it may fill your ARP cache.
- MacNS will not act as a DNS server. It only creates a LMHOSTS file that can be used locally. You can however put the created LMHOSTS file on a shared directory.
- MacNS will not provide a beautiful or responsive user interface. MacNS does not scan the network on a background thread, you will experience delays when it waits for an ARP response (it will not, of course, make other programs become unresponsive.)