remshd: Couldn't look up address for your host

[Smirjit Singh]

Hi,

I am facing typical problem today. Recently we changed one server's hostname & IP address in one of our server. After that I am not being to able to execute remsh command from that modified server to one of the remote server. I checked remote server's /var/adm/inetd.sec file. It seems ok. I only want to execute remsh & rcp. So in that remote server I had added this server's IP address in shell allow row. But it did not help me. In that shell allow row is also containing old IP address.

Whenver I execute remsh command from modified server then I am getting above error message. I checked with nslookup remote server. It is perfectly working. I had added this modified server ip & one login name to remote server's .rhost file. But it did not work. From remote server I am being able to connect my modified server thru remsh command.

Pls advise me.

[Santosh Nair_1 · Accepted solution]

Check the following, /etc/hosts.allow on the remote server. Also did you change the IP address / hostname in DNS/NIS (if you're using either).

-Santosh

[James R. Ferguson]

Hi:

Make sure that your /etc/hosts.equiv file or the user's $HOME/.rhosts file contains the new, correct hostname.

Regards!

...JRF...

[Sachin Patel]

Hi Sandip,
First make sure that you can resolv the name using nslookup.
Second check your client's $HOME/.rhosts file
Third check your client's /etc/hosts.equiv file.
Fourth check your /etc/inetd.conf file
Fifth your /etc/services file.

Compare this files with your servers(from where you are trying to do remsh) file.

Sachin

[Smirjit Singh]

Hi All,

Thanks for your advise. But whatever you suggested I already checkd. In my remote server there is .rhosts file which is containing my modified hostname & also there is not host.allow file. Checked DNS is also. Everything seems cool except above message.

[Santosh Nair_1]

How are you doing name resolution, i.e. DNS, NIS or just using local hosts files? Also, are you using the fully qualified domain name (FQDN, hostname.domainname) in the .rhosts file or are you using the alias. Finally when you do a nslookup on the IP address, do you get the FQDN or the alias? If you get the alias, then that's what you need to use in the .rhosts file, if you get the FQDN, then use that. Check these on both the local and remote machines.

-Santosh

[Herve BRANGIER]

Hi

When you try with nslookup are you sure your
new hostname is the FIRST reply you have. For
example if you have a system with 2 names :

hostname SYSTEM
alias ALIAS

In nslookup reply you will have SYSTEM and after
ALIAS. If using ALIAS in .rhosts doesn't work.

Herv?

[Sachin Patel]

Hi Sandip,
You says DNS is OK. What is your output of #nslookup remoteserver
on modified server and vice versa on remote server.

It got to be name resolv problem.

Sachin

[Smirjit Singh]

Thanks to all who have given their valuable suggetion to solve this problem.

Problem was remote side DNS entry. When I tried with nslookup ip address then it returns me the old server name. After fixed up that problem my remshd problem got resolved.