NetBIOS Name Changes on Wireless

[strwrsfrk]

So, weird issue:

My office has approximately 300 Macs, 100 PCs, and probably 250-450 mobile devices, many of which connect to WiFi. We have a DHCP server, and sometimes when a MacBook Pro is connected via WiFi, its NetBIOS name changes to some other device on the network (from iPhones to Windows machines to other Macs).

For example: I may rename my machine "strwrsfrk's MacBook Pro" under Sharing in System Preferences, but I'l fire up Terminal and sure enough it's "John's iPhone."

We've confirmed on the DHCP server that it's not pulling up some old DNS record with another device's name. Putting the MAcBook Pro in ethernet seems to fix this (since we're on multiple floors and have several wireless access points, though, it's very common for someone to walk round with their computer on wireless).

Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Ccrew]

We've confirmed on the DHCP server that it's not pulling up some old DNS record with another device's name.

But since that info isn't in DHCP by design for lookup did you look at the DNS server for that IP to determine if the connected device is updating the DNS A record in the domain zone and PTR records in the subnet's reverse zone?

My guess is that DNS isn't updating and you're resolving the reverse name of the last device that did.

Or since Netbios, possibly also you're still (in 2013) running a WINS server and it's holding a bad name. If so point out to your admin that WINS was last needed about oh, Windows 2000

 

[chrise2]

I've seen old PTR records in DNS cause this.