How to stop assignment of numbers to hostnames?

My devices, including airport stations, keep being assigned a number following their name (i.e. "ATV (3)"). I was hoping Mavericks would fix it but it did not.

Is this fixable, please?

Solution 1:

This seems like a problem with your router. Try forcing your hostname with scutil:

scutil --set HostName yourhostname

Why the number?

The bracketed numbers appear because the same Bonjour/ZeroConf name is being used multiple times on the network. If Bonjour detects a duplicate name, a number is appended to ensure uniqueness.

This does not indicate a serious problem. Resetting network caches and devices should help clear out the now superseded name.

Apple's Bonjour Frequently Asked Questions page discusses this behaviour:

12. What should happen when two devices on the network both use the same service name?

In the rare case where a name collision occurs, your device should add a digit to the end of the name, for example:

"Apple Mac mini (2)"