Hi everyone,
I have multi ZimaOS servers running on my network, when I browse my network on my windows or Mac I can see 2 servers and 1 server not showing in the network broadcast.
I can connect by typing full IP otherwise can’t find it in the browsing network.
Any idea what is happening here?
It usually comes down to how network discovery works between your ZimaOS systems. When you browse the network from Windows or macOS, those lists rely on local SMB and mDNS broadcasts rather than direct IP connections.
If one of your servers doesn’t appear in the network browser but still connects fine by IP, it means it’s not announcing itself properly. Here are a few things to check:
Make sure file sharing is turned on in the Files section of that ZimaOS so SMB discovery is active. Check that the hostname is unique and doesn’t include spaces or special characters. Also ensure the Avahi (mDNS) service is running, since that’s what allows it to show up automatically in your network list.
Another common cause is network isolation. If that server uses a different subnet, VLAN, or a macvlan Docker network, it won’t respond to network broadcast discovery.
Even if it doesn’t appear in the network list, you can still connect directly by typing its hostname or IP in your file browser, for example \zimaos-server or smb://zimaos-server.local