Host file editor

Information in the /etc/hosts file

This window enables you to view and edit the /etc/hosts file, which the filer can read to resolve host names. Whether the filer uses the file to resolve a name depends on whether you use DNS or NIS (or both), and the order in which the different kinds of name databases are queried.

NOTE: If you specify that the filer look up host addresses in the /etc/hosts file before sending queries to the name server, it is important that each entry in /etc/hosts contains accurate information. If you use DNS, to reduce the need for updating information in /etc/hosts, keep only a minimum number of entries in /etc/hosts. If you use NIS, you can modify the Makefile of the NIS master to copy the NIS master's /etc/hosts file to the filer when it is changed.

Information in the /etc/hosts file

This window provides the following information for the known hosts in the network:

IP: The IP address of the host in conventional "." (dot) notation.
Host Name: The official name of the host.
Aliases: The aliases associated with the host.

After you run setup on the filer, the filer automatically inserts entries for these hosts in the /etc/hosts file:

all interfaces on the filer
the administration host
the mail host used by the autosupport daemon
the default gateway

Editing the /etc/hosts file

The following list describes how to use the buttons in this window to add, modify, and delete host information in the /etc/hosts file:

Reload: Reloads the existing /etc/hosts file from the filer.
Save: Saves the changes to the /etc/hosts file. Changes to the /etc/hosts file take effect immediately. However, if you change the IP address for a network interface, the new IP address does not take effect until you reboot the filer.
Insert: Click anywhere in the display and click Insert to add a host to the /etc/hosts file.
Modify: Click the appropriate host in the display and click Modify to modify the information for a host in the /etc/hosts file.
Delete: Click the appropriate host in the display and click Delete to delete a host from the /etc/hosts file.