man/nss-myhostname.xml

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<!DOCTYPE refentry PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
  "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">

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<refentry id="nss-myhostname" conditional='HAVE_MYHOSTNAME'>

  <refentryinfo>
    <title>nss-myhostname</title>
    <productname>systemd</productname>

    <authorgroup>
      <author>
        <contrib>Developer</contrib>
        <firstname>Lennart</firstname>
        <surname>Poettering</surname>
        <email>lennart@poettering.net</email>
      </author>
    </authorgroup>
  </refentryinfo>

  <refmeta>
    <refentrytitle>nss-myhostname</refentrytitle>
    <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
  </refmeta>

  <refnamediv>
    <refname>nss-myhostname</refname>
    <refname>libnss_myhostname.so.2</refname>
    <refpurpose>Provide hostname resolution for the locally
    configured system hostname.</refpurpose>
  </refnamediv>

  <refsynopsisdiv>
    <para><filename>libnss_myhostname.so.2</filename></para>
  </refsynopsisdiv>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Description</title>

    <para><command>nss-myhostname</command> is a plugin for the GNU
    Name Service Switch (NSS) functionality of the GNU C Library
    (<command>glibc</command>), primarily providing hostname resolution
    for the locally configured system hostname as returned by
    <citerefentry><refentrytitle>gethostname</refentrytitle><manvolnum>2</manvolnum></citerefentry>.
    The precise hostnames resolved by this module are:</para>

    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem><para>The local, configured hostname is resolved to
      all locally configured IP addresses ordered by their scope, or
      — if none are configured — the IPv4 address 127.0.0.2 (which
      is on the local loopback) and the IPv6 address ::1 (which is the
      local host).</para></listitem>

      <listitem><para>The hostname <literal>localhost</literal> is
      resolved to the IP addresses 127.0.0.1 and
      ::1.</para></listitem>

      <listitem><para>The hostname <literal>gateway</literal> is
      resolved to all current default routing gateway addresses,
      ordered by their metric. This assigns a stable hostname to the
      current gateway, useful for referencing it independently of the
      current network configuration state.</para></listitem>

    </itemizedlist>

    <para>Various software relies on an always-resolvable local
    hostname. When using dynamic hostnames, this is traditionally
    achieved by patching <filename>/etc/hosts</filename> at the same
    time as changing the hostname. This is problematic since it
    requires a writable <filename>/etc</filename> file system and is
    fragile because the file might be edited by the administrator at
    the same time. With <command>nss-myhostname</command> enabled,
    changing <filename>/etc/hosts</filename> is unnecessary, and on
    many systems, the file becomes entirely optional.</para>

    <para>To activate the NSS modules, <literal>myhostname</literal>
    has to be added to the line starting with
    <literal>hosts:</literal> in
    <filename>/etc/nsswitch.conf</filename>.</para>

    <para>It is recommended to place <literal>myhostname</literal>
    last in the <filename>nsswitch.conf</filename> line to make sure
    that this mapping is only used as fallback, and that any DNS or
    <filename>/etc/hosts</filename> based mapping takes
    precedence.</para>
  </refsect1>

  <refsect1>
    <title>Example</title>

    <para>Here is an example <filename>/etc/nsswitch.conf</filename>
    file that enables <command>myhostname</command> correctly:</para>

<programlisting>passwd:         compat mymachines
group:          compat mymachines
shadow:         compat

hosts:          files resolve mymachines <command>myhostname</command>
networks:       files

protocols:      db files
services:       db files
ethers:         db files
rpc:            db files

netgroup:       nis</programlisting>

    <para>To test, use <command>glibc</command>'s <command>getent</command> tool:</para>

    <programlisting>$ getent ahosts `hostname`
::1       STREAM omega
::1       DGRAM
::1       RAW
127.0.0.2       STREAM
127.0.0.2       DGRAM
127.0.0.2       RAW</programlisting>

    <para>In this case, the local hostname is <varname>omega</varname>.</para>

  </refsect1>

  <refsect1>
    <title>See Also</title>
    <para>
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>nss-resolve</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry><refentrytitle>nss-mymachines</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>nsswitch.conf</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
      <citerefentry project='man-pages'><refentrytitle>getent</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>
    </para>
  </refsect1>

</refentry>