[NTLUG:Discuss] @home on a LINUX system -- computer identity?

[Mark Bickel]

> From discuss-admin at ntlug.org Wed Jan 24 11:46 CST 2001
> Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 11:44:20 -0600
> From: Steve Baker <sjbaker1 at airmail.net>
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> Subject: Re: [NTLUG:Discuss] @home on a LINUX system -- computer identity?
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> "Michael B. Lee" wrote:
> > 
> > I just noticed something odd about AT&T's @home cable service. Unless it
> > finds the Windows computer name they assign you, it won't work. (Network
> > Neighborhood --> Identification --> Computer name).
> > 
> > So, if I'm going to run my LINUX box over the cable service, how do I
> > replicate that computer name in LINUX? (Where do I configure it?). I'm
> > using the Red Hat 7.0 distribution, if that makes any kind of difference.
> 
> Do you mean the 'hostname' ?
> 
> If so, you can change it temporarily by saying (as 'root'):
> 
>    hostname {newname}
> 
> ...but to change it permenantly, (to quote from the 'hostname'
> man page):
> 
>       "The  host  name  is  usually set once at system startup in
>        /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 or /etc/init.d/boot (normally by  read­
>        ing  the  contents of a file which contains the host name,
>        e.g.  /etc/hostname)."
> 

The "Network Neighborhood --> Identification --> Computer name" thing is
(please correct me if I'm wrong here) I believe the NETBIOS name which is
part of the SMB browser function. For a Unix/Linux box to be visible in
the "Network Neighborhood" means that it must be running the nmbd daemon
and thus advertising its NETBIOS name as defined in (typically) smbd.conf.

This is part of the Samba package, and I believe that you would not need
to run the complementary smbd daemon which allows your box to share out
directories and/or printers via the SMB protocol (M$ file & print services).
Running any SMB services out on the internet brings into consideration of
a number of security issues.

Are you sure that @home really requires this? Seems kinda dumb to me, and
makes me wonder about MacOS machines on @home as well. Perhaps others can
provide some clarification here. I'm not that familiar with @home service.

Mark.Bickel at ericsson.com