uname -i uses also mac addresses?

[Lorenzo_13]

Hi there,

on an HP-UX 11.11, if I swap my network card with a new one, does the "machine identification number" (uname -i) change?

Thanks a lot for your help.

Cheers,
Lorenzo.

[Dietmar Konermann]

No, it doesn't.

[G. Vrijhoeven]

Hi Loranzo,

I do not think so. thsi string seems to be
check :

man confstr

_CS_MACHINE_IDENT
Identifier for each physical machine. Returned as
an opaque string of printable ascii characters.
This string has the same value for all partitions
in a physical machine. For hardware classes first
released with HP-UX 11i or later, this ID is
unique across all hardware classes. For earlier
hardware classes, the ID number is unique only
within the hardware class. A null string is
returned if no ID number is available; this is
expected to be the case only for prototype
machines or other systems improperly configured in
manufacturing. Comparisons of this value must be
made using the string compare functions, see
string(3C).

HTH,

Gideon

[Simon Hargrave · Accepted solution]

Hi Lorenzo

No, this number is stored on the mainboard. The only thing that will change this is if: -

- your mainboard gets swapped.
- an hp engineer changes it (he is the only one who can).


Sy

[Robert-Jan Goossens]

and chech this doc,

http://www4.itrc.hp.com/service/cki/docDisplay.do?docLocale=en_US&docId=200000073345082

Document description: How to obtain Serial Number and Machine Identifier ?
Document id: KBRC00013892

Regards,
Robert-Jan

[Bill Hassell]

LAN card MAC addresses have not been used as a machine identifier for many years. The uname -i value is a special encrypted value set by HP which includes a portion of the box's serial number and other processor info. It can only be changed by HP.