Auto-detect chat server

[meester]

I've got a question about the swfkit-flash chat server-example.
In the example on client-side you have to give the ip or name of the computer where the chatserver is running.

Is there a way to let the client (a swfkit-exe) autodetect where the chatserver is located. So the client doesn't have to input these ip-settings.

[SWFKit]

No, you must input the ip or name of the chat server, unless both the server and clients are in a small local network so that the chat clients can look for the server by port scanning.

[meester]

they are in a small network
How could i do this portscanning?

[SWFKit]

In the small local network, you will know all the ip addresses of the computers. Hence, you can try to connect to every computer one by one. If you could establish an connection with a computer, it would be the chat server. Please use a specific listening port for your chat server, for example, 31121. If you use a well-known port, say 80, the chat clients may connect to a web server.

After you have found the chat server, you can save its ip address to Registry so that you need not to search for it at the next time.