The hostnamectl tool is provided for administering the three classes of hostnames that can be used on a system controller or license server running RHEL 7.
### **Scope**
***RHEL 7***
The following tips are applicable for RHEL 7. For more information about configuring host names, refer to the Red Hat documentation: [https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red\_hat\_enterprise\_linux/7/html/networking\_guide/ch-configure\_host\_names](https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/7/html/networking_guide/ch-configure_host_names).
***RHEL 9***
For information about changing hostnames on RHEL 9 using the **nmcli** or **nmtui** tools, refer to the Red Hat documentation: [https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red\_hat\_enterprise\_linux/9/html/configuring\_and\_managing\_networking/assembly\_changing-a-hostname\_configuring-and-managing-networking#proc\_changing-a-hostname-using-nmcli\_assembly\_changing-a-hostname](https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-us/red_hat_enterprise_linux/9/html/configuring_and_managing_networking/assembly_changing-a-hostname_configuring-and-managing-networking#proc_changing-a-hostname-using-nmcli_assembly_changing-a-hostname)
### **View all hostnames** To view all the current hostnames, enter the command: `hostnamectl status ` The `status` option is implied by default if no option is given.
### **Set all hostnames** To set all the hostnames on a system, as root, enter the command: `hostnamectl set-hostname name ` This command changes the pretty, static, and transient hostnames to the name specified in *name*. The static and transient hostnames are simplified forms of the pretty hostname. Spaces are replaced with "-" and special characters are removed.
### **Set a particular hostname** To set a particular hostname, as root, enter the command with the relevant option: `hostnamectl set-hostname name [option...] ` Where option is one or more of: `--pretty`, `--static`, and `--transient`. If either the `--static` or `--transient` options are used with the `--pretty` option, the static and transient hostnames are simplified forms of the pretty hostname. Spaces are replaced with "-" and special characters are removed. If the `--pretty` option is not specivied, no simplification takes place. If the pretty hostname to be set contains spaces or a single quotation mark, use quotation marks around the name entry. For example: `hostnamectl set-hostname "Advantest's SmarTest 8.2 system controller" --pretty`
### **Check a hostname** To check if the hostname is set correctly as a fully qualified domain name, as root, enter the command: `hostname -f` An example of a correct response is: `server123.mycompany.com` Incorrect response example: `localhost.localdomain`
### **Clear a particular hostname** To clear a particular hostname and revert to the default, as root, enter the command with the relevant option: `hostnamectl set-hostname "" [option...] ` Where: `""` is a quoted empty string. option... is one or more of: `--pretty`, `--static`, and `--transient`.