net_kernel:connect_node/1 returns ignored

Just some random thing I learnt today while playing with Erlang:

So, I was playing with connecting to another Erlang node; I’m thinking about how to use it for diagnostics. However, when I tried it…

1> net_kernel:connect_node('foo@roger-pc').
ignored

Huh? The documentation says:

Returns true if successful, false if not, and ignored if the local node is not alive.

Wait. What? Obviously the node is alive – I’m using it…? Hang on, maybe Erlang has a different meaning of “alive”?

Yeah:

2> erlang:is_alive().
false

Hmmm. Documentation again:

Returns true if the local node is alive; that is, if the node can be part of a distributed system. Otherwise, it returns false.

Ah. I didn’t give my local shell a name. Let’s try again:

$ erl -sname bar
(bar@roger-pc)1>

Well, that’s more promising – there’s a name in the prompt…

(bar@roger-pc)1> is_alive().
true

Better.

(bar@roger-pc)2> net_kernel:connect_node('foo@roger-pc').
true

Perfect.