Need to set hostname and domain name

Question

Hi All,
I need to
1) set my "hostname" (foo), and
2) set my "domain name" (acme.local)
such that my machine identifies itself as "foo.acme.local". Anyone know how to do this? (I found the host name in file sharing, but it will not let me set the domain name.)
Many thanks,
-T

Answer 1

etresoft wrote:
Your domain is the name of your server.
What gave you that idea? My domain name is "acme.local". It is not the name of my server. I have three servers on my network. The one with the DNS, DHCP, and firewall servers on it called "server.acme.local".
I am confused about why you feel the need to have a subdomain.
This is not a subdomain. What gave you the impression I was asking for a subdomain?
What you seek to accomplish is entirely unnecessary and far more involved than just editing a config file.
Pretty easy in Linux and Windows. They just grab the domain name from the DHCP server. Or, you can hand configure them if you wish. Do you know how accomplish same in 10.6.4?
Give your machine a name in System Preferences > Sharing and it will have the name "whatever.local". That is all you need.
I would like to the entire network name displayed correctly. "whatever.local" is incorrect. It should be "machinename.domainname" or "foo.acme.local". In my example, "foo" is the machine name ("whatever" in your example) and "acme.local" is the domain name. (Not the server's name, by the way.)
"System Preferences > Sharing" will not let me add any extra periods. And will not let me change the ".local" either. (In this instance, I want the ".local".)
Here is the reverse rule I had to hand create:
182 PTR foo.acme.local.
(The dot on the end is not a mistake.)
I do not want a stray computer floating around that does not identify itself correctly. "foo.acme.local" is correct. "foo.local" is not.
By the way, this computer gets its IP address from a DHCP server, which does tell this Apple what the domain name is. (It gets ignored.)
/etc/dhcpd.conf
option domain-name "acme.local";
That is the config file for your DHCP server. You would use this if your machine were sharing its internet connection, for example. You don't need to edit this file.
You misunderstand. The DHCP server, not on this Mac, is not being used to share Internet connections. It is being used to assign IP addresses to machines on the local network. It is also being used to assign fixed IP's to network printers based on their MAC addresses. In my network, these are "off Internet" addresses. The firewall, also not on this Mac, it used to share a single Internet connection with all the internal users.
Hmmm. I created the file (dhcpd.conf) by hand. And, yes I do need to edit it all the time. Especially when I have bone headed machines on my network that do not follow or respond to standard networking conventions. This Mac does not accept the domain name given to it by my DHCP server and as such my DHCP server will not automatically update my DNS tables.
Evidence of this can be found in the dhcpd.leases, where I had to hand enter
client-hostname "foo";
into the lease table (did not do me any good).
I am wondering if 10.6.4 is not capable of handling this kind of standard network naming convention. (FreeBSD, which Apple run on top, is capable, so I am confused.)
MacOS X does not run on top of FreeBSD. They are different operating systems. MacOS X has a POSIX layer which most closely resembles BSD, that is all.
Interesting. Thank you for pointing out the difference. I bet POSIX know how, just like FreeBSD, which it resembles.
If I change the name in /etc/hosts, will Apple over ride it? (I am not at the machine or I would just try it.)
You do not "change" the name in /etc/hosts. You are just adding entries into your machine's lookup table. You can add as many aliases to as many IP addresses as you want. This is not the same as changing your machine's name, but it may be sufficient for what you are trying to accomplish - assuming I knew that, which I don't.
Then, where do I make the change?
10.6.4 did not tell the DHCP server what its name was either, so I had to hand add it into my DNS forward and reverse records. AAAAHHHHH!!!!
I strongly advise against editing files you don't understand.
I create my entire DNS configuration by hand, including my forward and reverse tables. Oh yes, I understand it, do I ever understand it. You should not jump to conclusions: it is insulting. I am presuming you meant no insult. Just be more careful next time.
I think that what is happening here is that 10.6.4 is not set up to follow standard network naming conventions. I would posit that the idea is to keep home users out of trouble. Probably a good thing. If 10.6.4 is not capable of using standard naming conventions, (or following standard DHCP conventions), I would just like a confirmation of that so I will stop trying to figure out how to do it. And, stop wasting my time and just hand configure any additional Mac's that enter my network.
Again, a "confirmation that it can not be done", or "how to do it" is what I am looking for.
Thank you for the assistance,
-T