need info on hostname
During the install you are asked for the host name which adds the following line to rc.conf. hostname=gateway.homepc.com What does FBSD use this for? Did I use the correct format for the host name? What are the rules for creating the hostname name? Are the rules published anywhere? ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: need info on hostname
During the install you are asked for the host name which adds the following line to rc.conf. hostname=gateway.homepc.com This is a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the computer following the standards of the DNS system. What does FBSD use this for? Locating your computer by it's name on a network, as opposed to the IP. The name is translated into an IP address by a DNS server. Did I use the correct format for the host name? Sure. On an internal network, you can use anything you like, but on the Internet, you would use one that actually has a real DNS entry. This is why you can see the FreeBSD website when you type www.freebsd.org into your browser. What are the rules for creating the hostname name? Follow the DNS standards using the following convention: computername.domain.top_level_domain ie: mypc.homenetwork.com or: www.freebsd.org Are the rules published anywhere? Sure. You can review one of the DNS rfc's here: http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1034.html Cheers, Steve ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: need info on hostname
Quid pro quo: I'm not an expert, and don't play one on TV. fbsd_user wrote: During the install you are asked for the host name which adds the following line to rc.conf. hostname=gateway.homepc.com What does FBSD use this for? DNS? Same stuff as any other system, with the possible exception of that stuff from Redmond. Since 'Nix is/has always been very network oriented, this is its primary means of human readable identification. Or something like that ;) Did I use the correct format for the host name? Yes, more or less. Since homepc.com seems to actually exist, this could either be a good or bad choice, depending on whether or not you own 'homepc.com'. If the machine is on a private network and will do all it's connecting via another box, it could probably get away with 'foo.bar.baz' if you set up your DNS correctly. What are the rules for creating the hostname name? See /etc/hosts. paraphrase ---If you're directly connected to the internet, you can't just make it up Are the rules published anywhere? I'd check RFC's if I was *real* concerned. The good news? If something about your selected hostname is causing problems, all you have to do (as root) $hostname my.new.name HTH, Kevin Kinsey DaleCo, S.P. ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: need info on hostname
Thanks for your reply, but you missed the meaning of my question. I am not interested in how hostname is used on the public internet and DNS stuff, I know that stuff. I want to know what the FBSD operating system does with it. More explicatively during the install of FBSD when asked to fill in the hostname prompt, what informative information should be given to the user so they can enter the correct stuff. Reading the /etc/hosts file provides no useful info. Is there any place in FBSD that explains how to fill in the install hostname prompt during the install? Something like FBSD uses this hostname internally to name the PC running this FBSD operating system. It has to be us this format of an fully qualified domain name in the format of thisPCname.fakeDOMAINname.tld Where thisPCname came be any name you want to identify this particular pc on your LAN. Where .fakeDOMAINname can be any name you want as long as it's not an registered domain on the public internet unless it's registered to you. Using FBSDyourlastname is an safe domain name to use here. Were .tld can be any of the standard TLD's currently in use. Such as .com or .usa or .info or .cc -Original Message- From: Kevin D. Kinsey, DaleCo, S.P. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 3:04 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ORG Subject: Re: need info on hostname Quid pro quo: I'm not an expert, and don't play one on TV. fbsd_user wrote: During the install you are asked for the host name which adds the following line to rc.conf. hostname=gateway.homepc.com What does FBSD use this for? DNS? Same stuff as any other system, with the possible exception of that stuff from Redmond. Since 'Nix is/has always been very network oriented, this is its primary means of human readable identification. Or something like that ;) Did I use the correct format for the host name? Yes, more or less. Since homepc.com seems to actually exist, this could either be a good or bad choice, depending on whether or not you own 'homepc.com'. If the machine is on a private network and will do all it's connecting via another box, it could probably get away with 'foo.bar.baz' if you set up your DNS correctly. What are the rules for creating the hostname name? See /etc/hosts. paraphrase ---If you're directly connected to the internet, you can't just make it up Are the rules published anywhere? I'd check RFC's if I was *real* concerned. The good news? If something about your selected hostname is causing problems, all you have to do (as root) $hostname my.new.name HTH, Kevin Kinsey DaleCo, S.P. ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: need info on hostname
On Nov 20, 2003, at 5:34 PM, fbsd_user wrote: Thanks for your reply, but you missed the meaning of my question. I am not interested in how hostname is used on the public internet and DNS stuff, I know that stuff. I want to know what the FBSD operating system does with it. Nothing, particularly. The FreeBSD operating system doesn't care what hostname you set, or even whether you set one at all: you could use localhost to refer to the current machine (via the 127.0.0.1 loopback interface) if the hostname was not explicitly set. More explicatively during the install of FBSD when asked to fill in the hostname prompt, what informative information should be given to the user so they can enter the correct stuff. Reading the /etc/hosts file provides no useful info. Is there any place in FBSD that explains how to fill in the install hostname prompt during the install? If you're configuring a standalone machine, the hostname doesn't matter. If one is configuring a machine to run on a network, one asks your local network admin, or ISP, or whoever is responsible for that network to provide you with the network configuration information. Often, simply using DHCP (run dhclient from the command line) to configure the machine will set all of this for you. -- -Chuck ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: need info on hostname
I want to know what the FBSD operating system does with it. FBSD uses the name for network related functions, such as using it in mail related functions when communicating with foreign mail servers, offering the name to services your computer offers, and listening on certain network sockets for connections based on that name. More explicatively during the install of FBSD when asked to fill in the hostname prompt, what informative information should be given to the user so they can enter the correct stuff. The correct 'stuff' would first and foremost: be the FQDN of the box, if it has one, thereafter, it would be whatever name designation you give it to comply with the other computers on the network. For instance, my domain is northnetworks.ca, and my IBM thinkpad (which I am typing this on) is named ptp. This designation has no correspoinding DNS entry in my DNS for my domain because it is mobile and never is in one spot or on one single network, but when I send myself an email from this box to my real email account, I will be reminded that it came from '[EMAIL PROTECTED]'. Many services rely on the hostname, regardless of what it is. I notice when I need a gui app, I #startx, and it tells me that the display name relates to my pc name. Beyond this, I don't know what else to tell you, perhaps someone else on the list will have a more detailed analysis on what the name is used for. Reading the /etc/hosts file provides no useful info. Is there any place in FBSD that explains how to fill in the install hostname prompt during the install? Considering as far as Free is concerned, there is no right answer. The filling of these fields resides within the information that your computer or network admin has given you. Something like FBSD uses this hostname internally to name the PC running this FBSD operating system. It has to be us this format of an fully qualified domain name in the format of thisPCname.fakeDOMAINname.tld Where thisPCname came be any name you want to identify this particular pc on your LAN. Where .fakeDOMAINname can be any name you want as long as it's not an registered domain on the public internet unless it's registered to you. Using FBSDyourlastname is an safe domain name to use here. Were .tld can be any of the standard TLD's currently in use. Such as .com or .usa or .info or .cc I think this answer has already been provided. Perhaps you may consider contributing your definition above to the documentation team for inclusion if you wish to see it in future releases :o) ps. The tld does NOT have to be a standard tld if used on a private net. Steve -Original Message- From: Kevin D. Kinsey, DaleCo, S.P. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 3:04 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ORG Subject: Re: need info on hostname Quid pro quo: I'm not an expert, and don't play one on TV. fbsd_user wrote: During the install you are asked for the host name which adds the following line to rc.conf. hostname=gateway.homepc.com What does FBSD use this for? DNS? Same stuff as any other system, with the possible exception of that stuff from Redmond. Since 'Nix is/has always been very network oriented, this is its primary means of human readable identification. Or something like that ;) Did I use the correct format for the host name? Yes, more or less. Since homepc.com seems to actually exist, this could either be a good or bad choice, depending on whether or not you own 'homepc.com'. If the machine is on a private network and will do all it's connecting via another box, it could probably get away with 'foo.bar.baz' if you set up your DNS correctly. What are the rules for creating the hostname name? See /etc/hosts. paraphrase ---If you're directly connected to the internet, you can't just make it up Are the rules published anywhere? I'd check RFC's if I was *real* concerned. The good news? If something about your selected hostname is causing problems, all you have to do (as root) $hostname my.new.name HTH, Kevin Kinsey DaleCo, S.P. ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions To unsubscribe, send any mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
