Hostname (also sitename) is called the name, which designates a computer in its network clearly. It predominantly becomes with electronic data exchange (e.g. E-Mail, Usenet news, ftp) uses, in order to indicate the communication partner in one of humans les and noticeable format. The conversion of the host name to a machine-readable address is made in the Internet today predominantly by means of the Domain Name System (DNS), historically by the file /etc/hosts. In local area networks the conversion takes place partly by DNS, partly still with NIS and other prop. guessing eras minutes. Which names are technically permissible, minutes used in the respective case regulate the Domain Name System for dissolution of name - in the Internet thus.

Hostname as name of a physical system

The hostname of a physical system (computer, host) is the name, under which the system knows itself and announces themselves with that the system. Visibly can these hostname become, if a computer sends a system Mail away, for example in the sender of status messages or Mailer Daemons or if a user on a server announces itself. The hostname can be set and selected on UNIX well-behaved systems with the command <tt>hostname</tt>.

With computers, which are located directly in the Internet, ith D becomes." R. a Full Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) as hostname uses, e.g. mail.wikipedia.org. With computers, which are attainable from a LAN only, the Domain part becomes partial (here: wikipedia.org) omitted and only the local part uses (here: mail), since the Domain part is not necessary for the clear distinction in this case.

The local part of the host name of physical systems is selected often following figures from literature and film (v. A. SF and Comics), fabulous creature or Gods or depends on the intended purpose of the Recher (e.g. LV, mail, ftp, serv1, serv2, serv3,"…).

Hostname as name of a network knot

The name, under which Internet servers make their services available, is likewise called hostname. It acts thereby strictly speaking around one out of a A-record entry in the Domain Name System (DNS) resulting Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). This DNS entry assigns a IP address to the hostname. In this way one or more Hostnames can show a server physical to the IP address. The name of the network knot (DNS entry) does not have to do thereby from technical view anything with the name of the physical system (S. o.).

Examples are:

• several virtual Web servers point to the IP address of the host system
• On a server run Mailserver, Web servers and ftp servers, for each of these services give it their own name, the IP address are however in all cases the same.

The name of a network knot is usually compound from a part, a service describes (e.g. www, mail, ftp,"…) and a Domain part (e.g. wikipedia.org). Since for the Domain Name System no difference between Domains and Subdomains exists, also host names leave themselves (more exact: A-records) directly on the Domain part register, e.g.:

user$ host wikipedia.org wikipedia.org has ADDRESS 207.142.131.234 

Articles in category "Hostname"

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Related Websites

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• Convert Host Name to IP Address or Find IP address of a host
  Convert a host or domain name to an IP address using DNS or find the host name from its IP address.


• Hostname - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  A hostname (occasionally also, a sitename) is the unique name by which a network ... The hostname is used to identify a particular host in various forms of ...


• Microsoft Windows XP - Hostname
  Displays the host name portion of the full computer name of the computer. Syntax hostname Parameters / Displays help at the command prompt.


• Sysinternals Freeware - Hostname
  Hostname is a very simply utility that takes either an IP address (eg ... For example, if you pass Hostname an IP address, you'll get back a host name, ...