Display the current FreeBSD hostname
$ grep hostname /etc/rc.conf
OR
$ hostname
How to change the FreeBSD server hostname without a system restart?
Type the following commands on FreeBSD server:
$ sudo hostname new-server-name-here
Next edit the /etc/rc.conf file and update hostname variable:
$ sudo vi /etc/rc.conf
Example:
hostname="new-server-name-here"
Save and close the file. Finally, edit the /etc/hosts file and update the lines that reads your old-host-name:
$ sudo vi /etc/hosts
From:
127.0.0.1 old-host-name
To:
127.0.0.1 new-server-name-here
Save and close the file.
Hostname command options
Include domain information in the printed name. This is the default behavior:
$ hostname -f
Trim off any domain information from the printed name:
$ hostname -s
Only print domain information:
$ hostname -d
