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Creating Clients

Creating clients is a little more complicated than creating groups, You can create client identities by using IP addresses of MAC addresses, Using IP addresses are problematic because they can change. MAC addresses cannot, so we strongly recommend using MAC addresses.

A MAC address is like a serial number for for network interfaces. Every network capable network device has at least 1 MAC address. If a device has a network port and WiFi, it can have 2 MAC addresses.

Before setting up clients, it is worthwhile to make a list of client MAC addresses. We know it can take some time, but it is worth it in the end, and you only need to do this once.

We have compiled some tips on how to find MAC addresses on some popular devices that should help you.

To add a new client, click on the Known Clients box. You can add the MAC address manually, or select it from a dropdown list if it is there. Then add a comment to explain what this device is. For example: Mary's iPhone. Then click the Add button.

After you have added your clients, you will see them all in the table below. From there you can assign each client to group or groups. Mary's iPhone belongs to Mary and Mary is an adult. So we'll assign Mary's iPhone to the Adult group.

Maybe we assigned an iPhone to Jimmy, and Jimmy is a kid. So we'll assign Jimmy's iPhone to the Kids group.

Now, maybe we also created a client for our our giant monster Samsung smart TV. It is neither an adult or a kid, so we'll assign it to our Devices group. We're also going to do the same for the clients we created for the Ring Doorbell and the Amazon Echo since they are all devices.

The Xbox has no need to have Adult privileges but it can open web pages, let's not call this a device. We'll assign it to the Kids group instead.

After you have assigned all your clients to groups, it is time to configure your blocklists.

See also: Network Overview, How to find MAC Addresses

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clients.txt · Last modified: 2022/10/12 23:50 by admin