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Setting the Linux Host Name
Updated March 20, 2002
Created June 1, 2001

Checking your Linux host name

First, see if your host name is set correclty using the following commands: 
uname -n
hostname -a
hostname -s
hostname -d
hostname -f
hostname
If the above commands return correctly with no errors then all may be well; however, you may want to read on to verify that all settings are correct.

Configuring /etc/hosts

If your IP address is assigned to you by a DHCP server, then /etc/hosts is configured as follows: 
127.0.0.1	mybox.mydomain.com	localhost.localdomain localhost mybox
If you have a static IP address, then /etc/hosts is configured as follows: 
127.0.0.1	localhost.localdomain localhost
192.168.0.10	mybox.mydomain.com	mybox

Setting the Host Name using "hostname"

After updating the /etc/hosts file correctly, the "hostname" command should be run as follows to set your hostname:

hostname mybox.mydomain.com



Checking /etc/HOSTNAME (if present)


You may or may not have the file /etc/HOSTNAME:




mybox.mydomain.com




Checking /etc/sysconfig/network

If you have a static IP address, then /etc/sysconfig/network is configured as follows:

NETWORKING=yes
HOSTNAME="mybox.mydomain.com"
...



If your IP address is assigned to you by a DHCP server, and you wish to update the local DNS server through Dynamic DNS, then /etc/sysconfig/network is configured as follows:

NETWORKING=yes
HOSTNAME="mybox.mydomain.com"
DHCP_HOSTNAME="mybox.mydomain.com"
...




Checking /proc/sys/kernel/hostname


This is checked with the following command:

cat /proc/sys/kernel/hostname



If you need to set this file, you can either reboot or set it now with the following command:

echo mybox.mydomain.com > /proc/sys/kernel/hostname




Dynamic DNS - Updating the local DNS server with your host name and DHCP IP

If you receive your IP address from a DHCP server, you may update the local DNS server by adding the following line to /etc/sysconfig/network for Red Hat:

DHCP_HOSTNAME="mybox.mydomain.com"


or if running Debian, edit /etc/network/interfaces as follows (adding the hostname line):

iface eth0 inet dhcp
    hostname mybox.mydomain.com



For more info in Debian, see "man interfaces" and scroll down to"The dhcp Method".


WINS - Updating the local WINS server with your host name and IP

If you wish to update the local WINS server, then use SAMBA, and configure it to point to the local WINS server.  samba.html





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