Name Resolution in WBCS

Note: This feature is not supported for the HTML Clock for the 6.2.2.0 release.

Clocks are identified in one of two ways by WBCS: by ID number, which is WBCS-assigned, or by Windows name, which is a user-assigned name. Name resolution can be enabled on the WBCS during installation. For more information, see Installing the WBCS in GUI Mode (Windows, Linux/UNIX). You can also configure the name resolution after installation.

When setting up the clock in the system, the clock’s IP address is defined in the IP Address field on the Readers page. The field can also be used to store the clock’s Windows name.

The field is limited to names of 40 characters. However depending on the database type used for the system, a smaller limit may apply:

  • For a JDBC database, the limit for all UDFs is 25 characters.

When the data is exported to the WBCS, the value of this field is stored in the IP Address and UDF0 fields in the READERS database table. With the first communication attempt between the clock and the WBCS, the WBCS looks for the IP address of the clock first. If WBCS does not find the IP address, the WBCS checks the reader.clocktype.dnsEnable setting. If the setting is True, WBCS looks for the Windows name of the clock in the database instead. Once found, the WBCS notes the IP address of the clock. This address helps to quickly locate the clock in future communication attempts.