diff --git a/tmcd/tmcd.c b/tmcd/tmcd.c
index 2536c9fcd49859adbbd327fdb0e254b5736589af..6647c935f2f6e62ad9061bce40c1334666e03122 100644
--- a/tmcd/tmcd.c
+++ b/tmcd/tmcd.c
@@ -3187,7 +3187,8 @@ COMMAND_PROTOTYPE(doisalive)
 
 	mydb_update("update nodes "
 		    "set status='up',status_timestamp=now() "
-		    "where node_id='%s'", nodeid);
+		    "where node_id='%s' or phys_nodeid='%s'",
+		    nodeid, nodeid);
 
 	/*
 	 * Return info about what needs to be updated.