How to change HOSTNAME in Linux ( CentOS6 / RHEL6 )

Hostname in Linux helps to identify the computer by name over network. When installing operating system hostname will set to default name. We can change the hostname later by changing configuration files.

We can check the current hostname by a command 

[fedo@localhost ~]$ hostname
localhost.localdomain

By editing "HOSTNAME" field in /etc/sysconfig/network file we can change the hostname.

default configuration 

[fedo@localhost ~]$ cat /etc/sysconfig/network

NETWORKING=yes

NETWORKING_IPV6=no

HOSTNAME=localhost.localdomain

NTPSERVERARGS=iburst

To edit this file we need root permission. So change from normal user to root user using su command and open the file using vim or your favourite editor and change the HOSTNAME field.

[root@localhost fedo]# cat /etc/sysconfig/network

NETWORKING=yes

NETWORKING_IPV6=no

HOSTNAME=centos89

NTPSERVERARGS=iburst

I updated the hostname to centos89. 

reboot the computer then login and check the hostname.

[fedo@centos89 ~]$ hostname

centos89

Now you can see the hostname changed to centos89.

!!!

Operating System Used : CentOS release 6.5 (Final)