How to safely change hostname in RHEL5

[Yaboto]

What is the recommended way to change the system name or hostname of RHEL5 server.

Regards,

[Matti_Kurkela · Accepted solution]

Use "system-config-network".

If you have DISPLAY environment variable set and the GUI version of the utility installed, it will display a X window with tabs for various network settings. The hostname is on the DNS tab.

If DISPLAY is not set or you have only the text version installed, it will display a text-based window. Select "Edit DNS settings" and there you'll find the hostname.

You can even make the change manually. There are only two places to change: the HOSTNAME= setting in /etc/sysconfig/network and the line that corresponds to your system in /etc/hosts. Reboot after the change.

MK

[Yaboto]

Please,
what about /etc/hosts ?
, since the host can't ping itself.

[Steven E. Protter]

Shalom,

vi /etc/sysconfig/network

Change host name

Save.

Make sure /etc/hosts is consistent with the new hostname for faster local name resolution.

service network restart

Reboot the box at a convenient time.

SEP

[Yaboto]

Thanks !