discovery for a network of linux devices

Question

I have a set of identical, custom linux devices plugged into a network and assigned addresses via DHCP. These need to be able to automatically discover each other. What's the most appropriate way of doing this?

Answer 1

You could take a look at service discovery using Avahi: -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avahi_(software)

Answer 2

You could implement Upnp protocol on your devices. It'll do what you ask for and more. Using a tested protocol is better than creating a new one.