Someone asked me today how they can enable their Linux DHCP clients update DNS with their hostnames. This is is pretty easy, so I figured I would put up this quick guide. The exact method will depend on whether you are using a Debian based system, or Red Hat based.
Debian Systems
In debian, you just need to adjust the dhclient config file. For example, on Squeeze it is located at:
/etc/dhcp3/dhclient.conf
Simply add append a line for the hostname to this file:
send host-name "ninja-host";
Do not add the domain name to this value or it will not work.
Once finished, just grab a new lease for you interface. For example, using eth0:
sudo dhclient eth0
Red Hat Systems
Red Hat is a little different. On these, you want to edit the NIC configuration script. For example, using eth0 as your NIC, you would edit the following file:
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
Once you have your script open, simply append the following variable:
DHCP_HOSTNAME=vivek-laptop
Then restart your networking
service network restart
