Changing the hostname of a Linux machine

This can be achieved in three steps.

1) Issue the command :

root@srv# hostname new.host.name

2) Change the network configuration file /etc/sysconfig/network to include the line :

HOSTNAME=new-host-name

3) Restart the systems which relied on the hostname (or reboot):

root@srv# service network restart

Restart desktop

i) Bring down system to console mode :

root@srv# init 3


ii) Bring up X Windows:

root@srv# init 5


One may also want to check the file /etc/hosts for an entry using the system name which allows the system to be self aware.