Hostname как изменить на centos 7

Это руководство проведет вас через процесс изменения имени хоста в системе CentOS 7.

Имя хоста задается во время установки операционной системы CentOS или если вы запускаете виртуальную машину, оно динамически назначается экземпляру при запуске.

Методы, описанные в этом руководстве, будут работать без перезагрузки вашей системы.
 

Прежде чем приступить

Прежде чем продолжить это руководство, убедитесь, что вы вошли в систему как пользователь с привилегиями sudo .
 

Общие сведения об именах хостов

Имя хоста — это метка, которая идентифицирует машину в сети. Вы не должны использовать одно и то же имя хоста на двух разных машинах в одной сети.

Есть три класса hostname : static , pretty и transient .

• static — Традиционное имя хоста, которое может быть установлено пользователем и хранится в /etc/hostname файле.
• pretty — Имя хоста в свободной форме UTF8, используемое для представления пользователю. Например Linuxize's desktop .
• transient — Динамическое имя хоста, поддерживаемое ядром, которое может быть изменено сервером DHCP или mDNS во время выполнения. По умолчанию это то же самое, что и static имя хоста.

Рекомендуется использовать полностью квалифицированное имя домена ( FQDN ) для обоих static и transient имена , такие как host.example.com .
 

Показать текущее имя хоста

Чтобы просмотреть текущее имя хоста, введите следующую команду:

hostnamectl 

Как видно из изображения выше, текущее имя хоста установлено на localhost.localdomain .
 

Измените имя хоста
 

Метод 1: с помощью hostnamectl команды

В CentOS 7 мы можем изменить имя хоста системы и соответствующие настройки с помощью команды hostnamectl , синтаксис следующий:
 

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname host.example.com sudo hostnamectl set-hostname "Your Pretty HostName" --pretty sudo hostnamectl set-hostname host.example.com --static sudo hostnamectl set-hostname host.example.com --transient 

Например, если мы хотим изменить статическое имя хоста системы на host.linuxize.com , мы можем использовать следующую команду:
 

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname host.linuxize.com 

Чтобы установить красивое имя хоста Linuxize's desktop , введите:
 

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname "Linuxize's desktop" --pretty 

Команда hostnamectl не производит вывода. В случае успеха возвращается 0, в противном случае — ненулевой код ошибки.
 

Способ 2: с помощью nmtui команды

nmtui — это текстовый пользовательский интерфейс для NetworkManager, который также можно использовать для изменения имени хоста.

Для запуска nmtui утилиты выполните следующую команду:
 

sudo nmtui 

Используйте клавиши со стрелками для навигации по параметрам, выберите Set system hostname и нажмите Enter :
 

Установите новое имя хоста:
 

Нажмите Enter, чтобы подтвердить изменение имени хоста:
 

Наконец, перезапустите systemd-hostnamed службу, чтобы изменения вступили в силу:
 

sudo systemctl restart systemd-hostnamed 

Метод 3: с помощью nmcli команды

nmcli — это инструмент командной строки для управления NetworkManager, который также можно использовать для изменения имени хоста.

Чтобы просмотреть текущий тип имени хоста:
 

sudo nmcli general hostname 

Чтобы изменить имя хоста, host.linuxize.com используйте следующую команду:
 

sudo nmcli general hostname host.linuxize.com 

Наконец, перезапустите systemd-hostnamed службу, чтобы изменения вступили в силу:
 

sudo systemctl restart systemd-hostnamed 

Проверить изменение

Чтобы убедиться, что имя хоста было успешно изменено, используйте hostnamectl команду:
 

hostnamectl 

Ваше новое имя хоста будет напечатано на консоли:

   Static hostname: host.linuxize.com
   Pretty hostname: Linuxize's desktop
         Icon name: computer-vm
           Chassis: vm
        Machine ID: 52d6807a6ae34327871ae568f7a1387e
           Boot ID: 4f747d0280d3402abed870d18b6e9a7a
    Virtualization: kvm
  Operating System: CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
       CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:7
            Kernel: Linux 3.10.0-693.11.6.el7.x86_64
      Architecture: x86-64
 

Вывод

В этом руководстве мы показали вам 3 различных метода изменения имени хоста вашего сервера CentOS 7 без перезагрузки компьютера

Introduction

A hostname is simply the name a server goes by on a network. Setting a unique hostname is an excellent way to quickly find and identify different servers on your network.

There are three 3 types of hostnames.

1. The static hostname is the most important one, and it’s stored in the /etc/hostname file. This hostname is used among machines to identify a particular server.
2. The pretty hostname got its name because it allows for more characters and punctuation. It’s more user-friendly, but since it uses non-standard characters, it is not permitted for machine code. The pretty hostname is stored in the /etc/machine-info directory.
3. The transient hostname is one maintained in the Linux kernel. It is dynamic, meaning it will be lost after a reboot. This approach might be useful if you have a minor job requiring a temporary hostname, but you don’t want to risk making a permanent change that might be confusing.

Prerequisites

• Server running CentOS 7
• Access to a user account with root privileges
• Terminal window (Menu > Applications > Utilities > Terminal)
• A text editor, like Vim

Step 1: Check Existing Hostname

Before you start, it is advised to check what your current hostname is. Type the following command in the console to find out:

hostnamectl

The output should return the static hostname, as well as a list of other information about your network configuration and operating system.

Step 2: Set a New Static Hostname

As CentOS 7 only allows Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs), double-check the hostname you plan to use.

Acceptable values include:

• Lower-case letters a to z
• Numbers 0 to 9
• Periods and hyphens
• Hostnames must be between 2 and 63 characters
• Hostnames must start and end with a number or letter

Type in the following command in the terminal:

hostnamectl set-hostname my.new-hostname.server

Step 3: Check the Hostname

Next, verify the hostname by using the following command again:

hostnamectl

The console should display the new hostname.

Step 4: Edit the /etc/hosts File

Start by opening the hosts file by typing:

sudo vim /etc/hosts

In the text editor, look for the line that begins with 127.0.0.1 (the IP address that refers to the system you are working on). It should read:

127.0.0.1  localhost localhost.localdomain localhost 4 localhost4.localdomain4 old.hostname

Change the entry old.hostname to my.new-hostname.server – and spell it the same as in Step 2.

Save the file and exit.

Step 5: Reboot and Check CentOS 7 machine hostname

Restart your system. Open a console window, and run:

hostnamectl

It should display your new hostname.

You can also use your text editor to open and verify your /etc/hostsfile. It should still have your new hostname listed.

Step 6 (Optional): Using a Pretty Hostname

To use a «pretty» hostname type the following command:

hostnamectl set-hostname "My Boss's Hostname"

Make sure you have the quotation marks.

Once that completes, check the hostname:

hostnamectl status

The console should return a list of information. Check the Static hostname and Pretty hostname lines – they should look like this:

Static hostname:  mybossshostname

Pretty hostname:  My Boss's Hostname

By putting the hostname in quotes, you’re telling the system to use the complex characters inside the quotes as a pretty hostname.

This enables you to avoid character restrictions for static hostnames.

But you still need a FQDN hostname for the machine to understand. Fortunately, CentOS is smart enough to remove or change any unacceptable characters and render the static hostname automatically.

Step 7 (Optional): Setting a Transient Hostname

Fist, open the console and type the following:

sudo hostnamectl -transient set-hostname temporary.hostname

You can check the hostname in the same way you did earlier, with the hostnamectl or hostnamectl status command.

This change will last until you reboot the machine.

You can use this command with any type of hostname (Static, Pretty, or Transient) as an option with the double-hyphen.

Just use the double-hyphen to indicate what you want:

sudo hostnamectl --prettyset-hostname "Pretty Hostname"

or

sudo hostnamectl --staticset-hostname temporary.hostname

Conclusion

To set or change a hostname in CentOS 7 is fairly straightforward.

If you are a more advanced user, you can try out other methods as well. One way is editing the /etc/hostname file with a text editor. Alternatively, you can run the nmtui tool at the command prompt, which will launch a little graphical tool to change the hostname.

A guide on how to change or set the hostname is also available for other Linux distributions like Ubuntu 18.04.

Содержание

	Введение
	Узнать имя своего хоста
	Изменить имя хоста
	С помощью hostnamectl
	pretty hostname
	hosts
	alias
	На хостинге
	Похожие статьи

Введение

Существует три класса hostname : static , pretty и transient .

• static — традиционное имя хоста, которое может быть установлено пользователем и хранится в
  /etc/hostname
• pretty — имя хоста UTF8 в свободной форме, используемое для представления пользователю. Например HeiHei’ host.
• transient — динамическое имя хоста, поддерживаемое ядром, которое может быть изменено сервером DHCP или mDNS во время выполнения. По умолчанию это то же самое, что и static имя хоста.

Рекомендуется использовать полное доменное имя ( FQDN ) как для static и для transient имен, таких как host.example.com .

• Строчные буквы от a до z
• Цифры от 0 до 9
• Точки и дефисы
• Hostnames может быть от 2 до 63 символов
• Hostnames должен начинаться и заканчиваться цифрой или буквой

Узнать имя своего хоста

[andrei@localhost Downloads]$

Посмотреть порядок можно выполнив

echo $PS1

[u@h W]$

Другие способы

hostname

localhost.localdomain

hostname -f

localhost

uname -n

localhost.localdomain

hostnamectl

Static hostname: localhost.localdomain
Icon name: computer-vm
Chassis: vm
Machine ID: 35e254eda578c54084b96e06d5f285cf
Boot ID: afb44fef8d764f30bb89550849b02fde
Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:7
Kernel: Linux 3.10.0-1160.36.2.el7.x86_64

Изменить имя хоста

С помощью команды hostname

hostname dns-server

hostname

dns-server

Если заново открыть терминал изменения будут видны в командной строке.

[andrei@dns-server~]$

Это имя хоста сохранится только до перезагрузки системы

Если выполнить hostnamectl видно, что
помянелось только динамическое имя хоста

hostnamectl

Static hostname: localhost.localdomain
Transient hostname: dns-server
Icon name: computer-vm
Chassis: vm
Machine ID: cff8a80b9c356243b5238452511a8ade
Boot ID: 64d9ddab85ec4c219ac46c6a2940e628
Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:7
Kernel: Linux 3.10.0-1160.42.2.el7.x86_64
Architecture: x86-64

Если изучить файл

hostname

, также можно увдиеть отсутствие изменений.

cat /etc/hostname

localhost.localdomain

С помощью hostnamectl

hostnamectl set-hostname dns-server.andrei.com

hostname

dns-server.andrei.com

Это постоянное изменение. Т.е. новое имя хоста имеет класс persistent.

cat /etc/hostname

dns-server.andrei.com

pretty name

Чтобы задать pretty name нужно воспользоваться кавычками

hostnamectl set-hostname «andrei’s.host.com»

hostnamectl

Static hostname: andreis.host.com
Pretty hostname: andrei’s.host.com
Icon name: computer-vm
Chassis: vm
Machine ID: cff8a80b9c356243b5238452511a8ade
Boot ID: 64d9ddab85ec4c219ac46c6a2940e628
Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:7
Kernel: Linux 3.10.0-1160.42.2.el7.x86_64
Architecture: x86-64

Появилось pretty hostname а static hostname такое же
, но без запрещенных символов

В /etc/hostname отображается только static hostname

cat /etc/hostname

andreis.host.com

pretty hostname можно увидеть в файле

/etc/machine-info

cat /etc/machine-info

PRETTY_HOSTNAME=»andrei’s.host.com»

hosts

Изучить информацию об именах других хостов можно в файле

hosts

Зайдём на него с помощью

ssh

и посмотрим, есть ли у него записи об именах других хостов в сети.

Для наглядности я теперь буду показываеть приглашение терминала чтобы было видно имя хоста.

[andrei@dns-server~]$ ssh andrei@192.168.56.113

Выполним ping по IP

[andrei@host113 ~]$ ping 192.168.56.149

PING 192.168.56.149 (192.168.56.149) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.56.149: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.650 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.56.149: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.731 ms
^C
— 192.168.56.149 ping statistics —
2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% packet loss, time 1000ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.650/0.690/0.731/0.048 ms

По IP пингуется успешно

И ping по hostname

[andrei@host113 ~]$ ping dns-server.andrei.com

ping: dns-server.andrei.com: Name or service not known

[andrei@host113 ~]$ cat /etc/hosts

127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4
::1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain6

Добавим запись о dns-server.andrei.com

sudo vi !$

127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4
::1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain6
192.168.56.149 dns-server.andrei.com

Повторим ping

[andrei@host113 ~]$ ping dns-server.andrei.com

PING dns-server.andrei.com (192.168.56.149) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from dns-server.andrei.com (192.168.56.149): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.698 ms
64 bytes from dns-server.andrei.com (192.168.56.149): icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.735 ms
64 bytes from dns-server.andrei.com (192.168.56.149): icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.739 ms
^C
— dns-server.andrei.com ping statistics —
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 2001ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.698/0.724/0.739/0.018 ms

Теперь всё работает

alias

IP FQDN ALIAS

FQDN — Fully Qualified Domain Name — полностью определённое имя домена.

192.168.56.149 dns-server.andrei.com vbdns

[andrei@host113 ~]$ ping vbdns

PING dns-server.andrei.com (192.168.56.149) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from dns-server.andrei.com (192.168.56.149): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.619 ms
64 bytes from dns-server.andrei.com (192.168.56.149): icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.674 ms
^C
— dns-server.andrei.com ping statistics —
2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% packet loss, time 1000ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.619/0.646/0.674/0.037 ms

Если поменять порядок так, что vbdns идёт первым а FQDN dns-server.andrei.com вторым, но
dns-server.andrei.com будет считаться алиасом

192.168.56.149 vbdns dns-server.andrei.com

В таком случае ответ будет идти от vbdns

[andrei@host113 ~]$ ping vbdns

Или

[andrei@host113 ~]$ ping dns-server.andrei.com

PING vbdns (192.168.56.149) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from vbdns (192.168.56.149): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.721 ms
64 bytes from vbdns (192.168.56.149): icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=1.01 ms
^C
— vbdns ping statistics —
2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% packet loss, time 1004ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.721/0.866/1.012/0.148 ms

Это может стать важным при работе с сертификатами

На хостинге

Как добавить соответствие IP адреса и домена сайта

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A computer hostname represents a unique name that gets assigned to a computer in a network in order to uniquely identify that computer in that specific network. A computer hostname can be set to any name you like, but you should keep in mind the following rules:

• hostnames can contain letters (from a to z).
• hostnames can contain digits (from 0 to 9).
• hostnames can contain only the hyphen character ( – ) as a special character.
• hostnames can contain the dot special character ( . ).
• hostnames can contain a combination of all three rules but must start and end with a letter or a number.
• hostnames letters are case-insensitive.
• hostnames must contain between 2 and 63 characters long.
• hostnames should be descriptive (to ease identifying the computer purpose, location, geographical area, etc on the network).

In order to display a computer name in CentOS 7/8 and RHEL 7/8 systems via console, issue the following command. The -s flag displayed the computer short name (hostname only) and the -f flag displays the computer FQDN in the network (only if the computer is a part of a domain or realm and the FQDN is set).

# hostname
# hostname -s
# hostname -f

You can also display a Linux system hostname by inspecting the content of /etc/hostname file using the cat command.

# cat /etc/hostname

In order to change or set a CentOS 7/8 machine hostname, use the hostnamectl command as shown in the below command excerpt.

# hostnamectl set-hostname your-new-hostname

In addition to hostname command, you can also use hostnamectl command to display a Linux machine hostname.

# hostnamectl

In order to apply the new hostname, a system reboot is required, issue one of the below commands in order to reboot a CentOS 7 machine.

# init 6
# systemctl reboot
# shutdown -r

A second method to set up a CentOS 7/8 machine hostname is to manually edit the /etc/hostname file and type your new hostname. Also, a system reboot is necessary in order to apply the new machine name.

# vi /etc/hostname

A third method that can be used to change a CentOS 7/8 machine hostname is by using the Linux sysctl interface. However, using this method to change machine name results in setting-up the machine transient hostname.

The transient hostname is a special hostname initialized and maintained only by the Linux kernel as an auxiliary machine name in addition to he static hostname and doesn’t survive reboots.

# sysctl kernel.hostname
# sysctl kernel.hostname=new-hostname
# sysctl -w kernel.hostname=new-hostname

To display machine transient hostname issue the below commands.

# sysctl kernel.hostname
# hostnamectl

Finally, the hostnamectl command can be used to achieve the following hostname setups: –pretty, –static, and –transient.

Although there are other more specific ways to change a Linux machine hostname, such as issuing nmtui command or manually editing some configuration files specific to each Linux distribution (/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ethX for CentOS), the above rules are generally available regardless of the used Linux distribution.

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Setting a proper hostname on a server is the first thing you should do after installing a new server. Most web panels, like cpanel or Vestacp, requires you to have a Fully qualified domain name for your hostname. A fully qualified domain name is in the form of server1.example.com or panel.example.com.

Now to the important question. What is a hostname?

A hostname is a free form string up to the length of 64 characters. It should not begin or end with a dot. Also, can’t use two dots immediately following each other. You can choose any name for your hostname. But the best practice is to choose a fully qualified domain name as your hostname. for example server1.example.com or panel.example.com.

Hostname Types.

CentOS 7 supports three types of Host Names:

Static hostname – The static host name is assigned or chosen by the user and is stored in /etc/hostname file.

Transient or Dynamic hostname – The transient/dynamic hostname is maintained by the kernel and assigned by DHCP and mDNS server at run time.

Pretty hostname – It is a free form UTF -8 hostname for the presentation to the user. For example, “Server 1 of DebYum”.

Red Hat recommends that both static and transient names match the fully-qualified domain name (FQDN) used for the machine in DNS, such as host.example.com.

Change server hostname in CentOS 7.

If you want to change your server hostname to a new one then you should make sure that it is persistent. Means it can survive a reboot.

The process of setting up a new hostname in CentOS 7 is easy. There are many ways to change server hostname in CentOS 7. For example, you can use the command line or Text User Interface tools like NMTUI to change your hostname.

I prefer using the command line to manage hostnames on my server.

Here is a list of different ways to manage your hostname.

• Edit various files to change the hostname.
• Use hostnamectl command to set/change the new hostname
• Use the nmcli command to set/change the new hostname.

Method #1: Edit various files to manage your hostname.

Update the /etc/hostname file on your RHEL 7 or Centos 7 Linux instance with the new hostname.

[root@panel ~]# vi /etc/hostname
panel.www.debyum.com

Update the /etc/sysconfig/network file on RHEL 7 or CentOS 7 Linux instance.

[root@panel~]# vi /etc/sysconfig/network
# Created by anaconda
HOSTNAME=panel.www.debyum.com

Check the Hostname of your server.

[root@panel ~]# hostname
panel.www.debyum.com

Method #2: Use hostnamectl command to manage your hostname.

Set static hostname on CentOS 7.

root@panel:~# hostnamectl set-hostname --static Server1.www.debyum.com

The transient name is assigned by DHCP and mDNS server at run time.

Set pretty hostname on CentOS 7.

root@panel:~# hostnamectl set-hostname "Server 1 of Debyum"

Restart the systemd-hostnamed service.

root@panel:~# systemctl restart systemd-hostnamed

Reboot your server to make things permanent.

Check your hostname settings.

root@server1:~# hostnamectl status
Static hostname: Server1.www.debyum.com
Pretty hostname: Server 1 of Debyum
Transient hostname: Server1
Icon name: computer-vm
Chassis: vm
Machine ID: 153a217486fe4jsu4r9u228db67ed581
Boot ID: 7fbe3ecfff094w9e81fr55c6a1bf3fe6
Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: CentOS Linux 7 (Core)
CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:centos:centos:7
Kernel: Linux 4.8.6-x86_64-linode78
Architecture: x86-64

Method #3: Use the nmcli command to manage your hostname.

First of all, check the hostname using the nmcli command:

root@engy:~# nmcli general hostname
engy.www.debyum.com

Set a fully qualified domain name via nmcli command as root.

root@engy:~# nmcli general hostname panel.www.debyum.com

Check the new hostname.

root@engy:~# nmcli general hostname
panel.www.debyum.com

Set a short name as your hostname using the nmcli command. The command is same as setting any kind of hostname in nmcli. (short or FQDN)

root@engy:~# nmcli general hostname panel

Check the new hostname in CentOS 7.

root@engy:~# nmcli general hostname
panel

To force hostnamectl to notice the change in the static hostname, restart hostnamed as root:

root@engy:~# systemctl restart systemd-hostnamed

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A hostname is a human-readable string that helps people refer to a computer by a familiar name, rather than by a number or unwieldy descriptors like, «the third one from the bottom of the second-to-last rack.» Often, a hostname is set during the installation process, but there are times when it needs to be changed. On Linux, there are many ways to set a hostname, and this article aims to cover them all.

Before exploring the tools related to hostnames, though, you must understand the different contexts in which the term is used. There are potentially two designators of a system’s hostname: the computer’s administrator (a laptop’s owner, or a server’s root user) and the network (depending on protocols and settings). This factor can lead to confusion, because you might look at your computer’s hostname and see one value, only to find that the same computer is referred to as something different over the network.

There’s a historical reason for this situation. Long ago, before DNS, hosts on a network had to be defined locally in the file /etc/hosts. If there were 31 hosts on a network and a new one was added, then 32 hosts had to update their /etc/hosts file to reflect the correct IP address and corresponding hostname for each of their neighbors. This process didn’t scale well for bigger networked systems such as the World Wide Web (the Internet), and so DNS was invented, and the concept of hostnames largely was abstracted away from local computers to instead be managed by the network.

Today, the important hostname is the one the network uses. The hostname value in /etc/hosts is often set to localhost by default.

With this context in mind, here are all the different ways to manipulate a hostname on Linux.

[ Free download: Advanced Linux commands cheat sheet. ]

Change all three names with hostnamectl

The hostnamectl command from systemd can manipulate three varieties of hostnames:

• Transient: Received from network configuration.
• Static: Provided by the kernel.
• Pretty: Provided by the user.

A transient hostname can change as needed to avoid name collisions. For instance, if you name your computer penguin but there’s already another host with that name on the network, your network hostname becomes penguin-1.

Static and pretty hostnames are a little like local variables: They’re used for activities occurring on the local machine, mostly as a convenience for the user, along with applications that need to know whether they’re running locally or remotely (for example, over a forwarded X session).

When invoked without any arguments, hostnamectl returns the static and pretty names, plus some system information:

$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: penguin
   Pretty hostname: Penguin VM
         Icon name: computer-vm
           Chassis: vm
        Machine ID: 418d9ce8ead44bbfb6970c0d356b89bf
           Boot ID: fb3a310237ef41f88b1c62c26f19065a
    Virtualization: kvm
  Operating System: Fedora 30 (Workstation Edition)
       CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:fedoraproject:fedora:30
            Kernel: Linux 5.0.9-301.fc30.x86_64
      Architecture: x86-64

$ sudo hostnamectl set-hostname --pretty "Web dev test environment"
$ sudo hostnamectl set-hostname --static webdev-test-env
$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: webdev-test-env
   Pretty hostname: Web dev test environment
   [...]

Change the static and pretty names in the GUI with GNOME Settings

If you want to set the static and pretty names in a desktop application, use GNOME Settings. To launch GNOME Settings, go to the Activities menu in the upper left corner of your GNOME desktop. Type Settings into the search field, or click the Show Applications icon on the left dock and find Settings in the application icons as shown below:

$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: rockhopper-computer
   Pretty hostname: rockhopper computer
   [...]

Change the static name with cockpit

Fedora, CentOS, and RHEL systems feature a web console application called Cockpit for monitoring and configuring local and remote machines. Using Cockpit, you can change the static hostname for your own machine, or any machine you administer (as long as it has Cockpit enabled).

First, install and enable Cockpit:

$ sudo dnf install cockpit
[...]
$ sudo systemctl enable --now cockpit

In the web console, click the System tab in the left column. Click the entry for Host name and edit the Pretty Host Name and (static) Real Host Name:

$ sudo echo "galapagos" > /etc/hostname 
$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: snares
   Pretty hostname: rockhopper web console computer
   [...]

Change the static name in the hostname file

You can also set the static hostname manually by editing /etc/hostname. This file contains exactly one line by default. If you have not changed the hostname yet, then that line probably reads localhost.localdomain. If you have used hostnamectl to change the hostname already, then this file reflects that change.

Editing this file manually is not necessarily recommended, because it doesn’t update all the other hostname values the way hostnamectl does. For example:

$ sudo echo "galapagos" > /etc/hostname 
$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: galapagos
   Pretty hostname: rockhopper computer
   Transient hostname: rockhopper-computer
   [...]

Change the static name with nmcli

Another way to change a static hostname is through the command line interface for Network Manager, nmcli:

$ sudo nmcli general hostname emperor
$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: emperor
   Pretty hostname: rockhopper computer
   Transient hostname: rockhopper-computer
   [...]

Change the transient name with sysctl

The sysctl command allows you to configure kernel parameters while Linux is running (that is, instead of at boot time). Your computer’s transient hostname is a kernel parameter, so you can modify it with this command:

$ sudo sysctl kernel.hostname=humboldt
$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: emperor
   Pretty hostname: rockhopper computer
   Transient hostname: humboldt
   [...]

Change the transient name with hostname

The hostname command from the util-linux package is a simple tool to query and set the transient hostname.

To query your current hostname:

$ hostname
humboldt

$ sudo hostname fjordland
$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: emperor
   Pretty hostname: rockhopper computer
Transient hostname: fjordland

Be careful with /etc/hosts

The /etc/hosts file is mostly historic, although it is used by some applications and protocols, and can be a useful method for creating shortcuts to hosts you use often. You can use it to set a hostname, but usually, you’re just creating an alias to localhost at IP address 127.0.0.1 (your computer’s network loopback address).

For example, if you change /etc/hosts from the default entries like this:

$ cat /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1   magellanic magellanic.localdomain magellanic magellanic.localdomain4
::1         magellanic magellanic.localdomain magellanic magellanic.localdomain6

$ ping -c 1 localhost
PING localhost(magellanic (::1)) 56 data bytes
64 bytes from magellanic (::1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.182 ms
[...]
$ ping -c 1 magellanic
PING magellanic(magellanic (::1)) 56 data bytes
64 bytes from magellanic (::1): icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.181 ms
[...]

$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: emperor
   Pretty hostname: rockhopper computer
   Transient hostname: fjordland

Follow the conformity convention

As you can tell from the iterations within this article, a computer’s hostname can get confusing should you use too many methods to set it, or if you change it frequently. While nothing enforces uniformity across hostname types, it’s a convention to keep everything the same on each computer.

Choose a memorable name and use it for your pretty name. Let the static and transient names be derived from that. Just as importantly, in a large network, choose meaningful names. For instance, all upper management computers may be named after a D&D monster, while all computers in the IT department may be named after a famous starship, and so on. Using a naming schema helps avoid name collisions and provides context to an otherwise dizzying list of network hosts.