Change Hostname in CentOS Linux 5/6

[akhilt]

Change Hostname in CentOS Linux 5/6


You need to use the following commands to set or view current hostname, domain name and/or FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name):

 - dnsdomainname command: Display the system’s DNS domain name.
 - hostname command: Show or set the system’s hostname.

You also need to edit the following files for a hostname change:

1. /etc/sysconfig/network file.
2. /etc/hosts file.

In this tutorial, I will show you how to set/change a server hostname in CentOS Linux to “server.domainname.com”.

Display current hostname


Type the following command:

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# hostname
Sample outputs:

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server1
To display current domain name:

Type the following command:

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# dnsdomainname
Sample outputs:

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domainname.com
Hostname change procedure on CentOS

Open the terminal or login to the remote server using ssh client. Edit /etc/sysconfig/network file, enter:

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# vi /etc/sysconfig/network
Find and modify HOSTNAME value to set to FQDN such as 'server.domainname.com'

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HOSTNAME="server.domainname.com"
Save and close the file.

Edit hosts file

Edit /etc/hosts file, enter:

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# vi /etc/hosts
You need to set or change the host that is set to your IP address on the server.

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127.0.0.1 localhost
10.240.40.209 server.domainname.com server 

Save and close the file.

Set hostname manually without rebooting the server

Type the following command:

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# hostname server.domainname.com
Restart the CentOS networking and other services

You need to restart the networking service on CentOS Linux, enter:

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# service network restart OR

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# /etc/init.d/network restart
Verify new hostnames

Simply type the following commands:

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# hostname
# dnsdomainname
Hoping the information will come in handy,
Thank You!