My Ubuntu Box becomes inaccessible via hostname after a few hours

Question

I have an Ubuntu box at home. After I restart it I can log into it via ssh using the local hostname, i.e. athens.local, but after a while this becomes no longer possible (the host is no longer found) and I have to log in with the local IP address e.g. 10.0.1.3. What's going on and how can I fix this?

Is there something wrong with my wifi network card?

Answer 1

The ".local" address becomes available on your network through Zeroconf or, as known on Apple computers, Rendezvous. The software on Linux which provides this capability is called Avanti.

There are various reasons why this might fail. Avanti may be starting, but then later being blocked by a firewall started later in the boot process. Avanti itself might be crashing. Alternatively, you might have a problem on the other system. There is also a possibility of a name conflict, as I honestly don't remember how Zeroconf handles these.

This is about as much an answer I can provide, given the information.