XEN: Setting hostname is not presistent

vpslinkdotcom · #1 (**permalink**) 10-12-2007, 08:36 PM

As a few of you have already noticed, currently we are having issues with hostnames staying set after a reboot of your XEN account via the cp.vpslink.com interface. There are a few workarounds for this currently:

1. Do not use the control panel to reboot, simply execute a reboot from the command line.
2. Set your hostname manually each time on reboot

This affects all users currently. We will have an updated release ready to roll out Tuesday morning. Thanks for your understanding!

charles · #2 (**permalink**) 10-14-2007, 12:21 PM

A couple more for you to look at, in addition to the hostname ...

When I use the control panel reboot:

1. /etc/localtime is cleared to zero-length. My machine reverts to UTC.
2. The root password reverts back to the original.
3. The 127.0.0.1 line in /etc/hosts is changed. The nnnnn hostname is added.
4. /etc/inittab is reverted (but this I don't care about)

The first 2 are a significant bother. The third causes some problems when doing reverse lookups on the local IP. As noted, the 4th I don't care about.

Charles

vpslinkdotcom · #3 (**permalink**) 10-14-2007, 02:34 PM

Charles,

Good finds..I will work with our dev team on Monday and let everyone know the plan ASAP.

kurtk · #4 (**permalink**) 10-18-2007, 06:36 PM

I have been rebooting from my ssh session instead of the CP by doing

Code:

#shutdown -r +0 "going down"

The hostname keeps its prior value when the system comes back up and does not have to be reset.

Doug · #5 (**permalink**) 10-18-2007, 08:39 PM

Is there a benefit to using that command over the 'reboot' command?

kurtk · #6 (**permalink**) 10-18-2007, 11:19 PM

Probably not as far as the hostname being persistent goes. It just allows a more graceful shutdown.

Todd@VPSlink · #7 (**permalink**) 10-18-2007, 11:42 PM

Unless your system is in init state 0 or 6, halt and reboot actually call the shutdown command (Since Linux 2.74). So, in most cases, there will be no difference in the gracefulness of the reboot whichever you use.

If you want to be certain which utility is actually being invoked, consult the man pages for halt and reboot in your distribution. The specific mechanisms for this unique linux behavior will be discussed in the Notes section.