HOSTNAME(1) Linux System Administrator’s Manual HOSTNAME(1)
NAME
hostname – show or set the system’s host name
dnsdomainname – show the system’s DNS domain name
domainname – show or set the system’s NIS/YP domain name
nisdomainname – show or set system’s NIS/YP domain name
nodename – show or set the system’s DECnet node name
ypdomainname – show or set the system’s NIS/YP domain name
SYNOPSIS
hostname [-v] [-s|–short]
hostname [-v] [-a|–alias] [-d|–domain] [-f|–fqdn|–long]
[-i|–ip-address]
hostname [-v] [-y|–yp|–nis] [-n|–node]
hostname [-v] [-F filename|–file filename] [newname]
domainname [-v] [-F filename|–file filename] [newname]
nodename [-v] [-F filename|–file filename] [newname]
hostname [-v|–verbose] [-h|–help] [-V|–version]
dnsdomainname [-v]
nisdomainname [-v]
ypdomainname [-v]
DESCRIPTION
Hostname is the program that is used to either set or display the
current host, domain or node name of the system. These names are
used by many of the networking programs to identify the machine. The
domain name is also used by NIS/YP.
GET NAME
When called without any arguments, the program displays the current
names:
hostname will print the name of the system as returned by the
gethostname(2) function.
domainname, nisdomainname, ypdomainname will print the name of the
system as returned by the getdomainname(2) function. This is also
known as the YP/NIS domain name of the system.
nodename will print the DECnet node name of the system as returned by
the getnodename(2) function.
dnsdomainname will print the domain part of the FQDN (Fully Qualified
Domain Name). The complete FQDN of the system is returned with
hostname –fqdn.
SET NAME
When called with one argument or with the –file option, the commands
set the host name, the NIS/YP domain name or the node name.
Note, that only the super-user can change the names.
It is not possible to set the FQDN or the DNS domain name with the
dnsdomainname command (see THE FQDN below).
The host name is usually set once at system startup by reading the
contents of a file which contains the host name, e.g.
/etc/hostname).
THE FQDN
You can’t change the FQDN (as returned by hostname –fqdn) or the DNS
domain name (as returned by dnsdomainname) with this command. The
FQDN of the system is the name that the resolver(3) returns for the
host name.
Technically: The FQDN is the canonical name returned by
gethostbyname2(2) when resolving the result of the gethostname(2)
name. The DNS domain name is the part after the first dot.
Therefore it depends on the configuration (usually in /etc/host.conf)
how you can change it. If hosts is the first lookup method, you can
change the FQDN in /etc/hosts.
OPTIONS
-a, –alias
Display the alias name of the host (if used).
-d, –domain
Display the name of the DNS domain (this is the FQDN without
the segment up to the first dot). This is equivalent to using
the dnsdomainname command.
-F, –file filename
Read the new host name from the specified file. Comments
(lines starting with a `#’) are ignored.
-f, –fqdn, –long
Display the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name). A FQDN
consists of name including the DNS domain.
-h, –help
Print a usage message and exit.
-i, –ip-address
Display the IP address(es) of the host.
-n, –node
Display the DECnet node name. If a parameter is given (or
–file name ) the root can also set a new node name.
-s, –short
Display the short host name. This is the host name cut at the
first dot.
-V, –version
Print version information on standard output and exit
successfully.
-v, –verbose
Be verbose and tell what’s going on.
-y, –yp, –nis
Display the NIS domain name. If a parameter is given (or
–file name ) then root can also set a new NIS domain.
FILES
/etc/hostname /etc/hosts /etc/host.conf
AUTHOR
Peter Tobias, <[email protected]>
Bernd Eckenfels, <[email protected]> (NIS and manpage).
Steve Whitehouse, <[email protected]> (DECnet support and manpage).
COLOPHON
This page is part of the net-tools (networking utilities) project.
Information about the project can be found at
⟨http://net-tools.sourceforge.net/⟩. If you have a bug report for
this manual page, see ⟨http://net-tools.sourceforge.net/⟩. This page
was obtained from the project’s upstream Git repository
(git://git.code.sf.net/p/net-tools/code) on 2014-12-30. If you dis‐
cover any rendering problems in this HTML version of the page, or you
believe there is a better or more up-to-date source for the page, or
you have corrections or improvements to the information in this
COLOPHON (which is not part of the original manual page), send a mail
to [email protected]
net-tools 2013-08-29 HOSTNAME(1)