Jeff Cours <linux-j@moriarti.org> [2002-12-05 11:39:00 -0800]: > Good catch - I forgot to mention that one. I did modify /etc/hosts > originally, adding the new name in addition to the old name to the > loopback (127.0.0.1) entry. I don't know whether or not the resolver > is sensitive to ordering, though, so I just rearranged the order so > the new name is first, followed by "localhost", followed by the old > name. Maybe that'll make a difference. Yes, it is sensitive to the ordering. The first name on the line is the hostname and the others on the line are aliases. Also, the contents of /etc/nsswitch.conf controls whether files or DNS is first. The default is files and so the local /etc/hosts will have precedence over DNS. You want the fully qualified hostname first on the line. Normally that is followed by the name without the domain as an alias and for the 127.0.0.1 entry by localhost so that it is also an alias. (Having it the other way around will, for example, cause 'hostname -fqdn' to return the wrong result and cause other errors.) Hard to describe so here is an example. 127.0.0.1 torment.proulx.com torment localhost Other configurations are also possible. There is probably no Right Configuration for all systems. It is also okay to just have localhost there and then use DNS and the loopback device for local host networking. On a fully networked machine that would be fine. But on a host where the networking is brought up and down such as a laptop or a desktop that runs ppp only sometimes then using 127.0.0.1 for local networking when the Real Networking is offline works well. The list of files you gave earlier in the thread to change when chaning the hostname looked fine. And I know you said you rebooted. It is possible to change the hostname on the fly without rebooting by restarting all of the daemons. But frequently it is just easier to reboot so everything comes up clean and you test that it does. Otherwise when you do reboot some years in the future to change hardware if it is not clean then so much time will have passed that you will have forgotten what you changed! > Also, how do I generate public keys with the correct host name > (or can I just edit the hostname in /etc/ssh/ssh_host_rsa_key.pub and > /etc/ssh/ssh_host_dsa_key.pub)? The name in those files are in the comment section of the file. You can either ignore them entirely and everything will work okay. Or if you want to eradicate any trace of the old name then feel free to edit them by hand and change the machine name in the comment there. Bob
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