Feature Request: Editable and Persistent DHCP Hostnames for Dynamic Leases

[bl1nkr1]

Summary

Allow administrators to edit and persist DHCP hostnames for dynamic leases without requiring a DHCP reservation. Hostnames should be associated with the device's MAC address and remain consistent across lease renewals, IP changes, and reboots.

Problem

Many devices either:

• Report generic hostnames
• Report incorrect hostnames
• Report no hostname at all
• Change hostnames unexpectedly after firmware updates or resets

Today, the primary workaround is to create a DHCP reservation and assign a hostname there. While this works, it also requires assigning a static IP address, which is not always desirable.

In many environments, administrators may want a device to continue receiving dynamic IP assignments while still maintaining a meaningful and consistent hostname.

For example:

MAC Address	Reported Hostname	Desired Hostname
AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF	ESP32-AB12CD	Garage-Weather-Sensor
11:22:33:44:55:66	android-8f72d1	LivingRoom-Tablet
77:88:99:AA:BB:CC	unknown	Aqara-Hub-M3

Currently there is no straightforward way to persist these custom names without converting the device to a DHCP reservation.

Proposed Solution

Introduce a hostname override mechanism that is independent of DHCP reservations.

GUI

Within the DHCP Leases page, allow administrators to:

• Edit the displayed hostname for a lease
• Save the hostname override
• Persist the hostname against the device MAC address

Example:

Lease
 ├─ MAC Address
 ├─ IP Address
 ├─ Current Hostname
 └─ Custom Hostname Override

If a hostname override exists, it should be displayed throughout the UI, including:

• DHCP Leases
• DNS Zones
• Query Logs
• Dashboard views
• Client/device listings

API

Add API endpoints to:

• Create hostname overrides
• Retrieve hostname overrides
• Update hostname overrides
• Delete hostname overrides

Using MAC address as the primary identifier.

Example:

{
  "macAddress": "AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF",
  "hostName": "Garage-Weather-Sensor"
}

Behavior

When a lease is issued:

1. Client presents hostname (or not)
2. Technitium checks for a hostname override matching the MAC address
3. If an override exists, use the override hostname
4. If no override exists, use the client-provided hostname

The override should remain effective regardless of:

• IP address changes
• Lease expiration/renewal
• DHCP scope changes
• Server restarts

Benefits

• Cleaner DHCP lease tables
• More meaningful DNS records
• Easier troubleshooting
• Better integration with automation systems
• No need to create DHCP reservations solely for naming purposes
• Preserves dynamic IP allocation while allowing administrative naming control

Use Cases

• Home Assistant environments
• IoT deployments
• Enterprise guest networks
• Mobile devices that frequently change IP addresses
• Devices that do not provide useful hostnames
• Standardizing naming conventions across a network

Additional Consideration

It may be useful to expose hostname overrides as a separate data store from DHCP reservations, allowing administrators to independently manage:

• Address assignment (dynamic vs reserved)
• Device naming

This would provide greater flexibility while maintaining backward compatibility with the existing DHCP reservation workflow.

[ShreyasZare]

Thanks for the request. I guess something similar was already requested. I will get this implemented together with the DHCP server major upgrade that is planned.

[bl1nkr1]

Thank you, @ShreyasZare !

Apologies if there was a similar request; I didn't see one when searching, but I'll try to broaden my search on future requests.

Keep up the great work and looking forward to the updates!

[ShreyasZare]

You're welcome!