Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Sun, 21 Jul 96 21:53:24 EDT
From:      Red Barchetta <paradox@pegasus.rutgers.edu>
To:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   running system with no hostname...
Message-ID:  <CMM-RU.1.5.838000404.paradox@pegasus.rutgers.edu>

next in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
I just recently installed 2.1.5R on my system.  I have to say I am impressed
with the installer, which is massively improved from 2.1.0R, which I
installed and then zapped when 2.1.5R was announced one day later :)

Anyway, my question/problem stems from the fact that I connect to the
internet via a dialup PPP link (haven't tried yet under FreeBSD) and that I
therefore do not have a hostname assigned to my machine.  For now, I have
placed an arbitrary name in the "hostname" field of /etc/sysconfig, but I get
all sorts of daemons telling me on botup that the hostname (obviously)
doesn't exist.  I know I can turn off things like sendmail until I get a
permanent link in the fall, but can someone warn me as to what types of
problems running without a "real" hostname can cause (the comments in
sysconfig and the installer both stress the importance of this value)?

Also, is there any way to tell FreeBSD's network daemons *not* to perform a
hostname lookup (i.e. just use the dynamic IP address instead)?

Thanks a lot...

Ernie Pistor



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?CMM-RU.1.5.838000404.paradox>