When a machine is standalone or its IP address is configured locally, the /etc/nodename file contains the system name. By convention, the system name is the same as the hostname associated with the IP address of the primary network interface, for example, hostname.hme0.

If the machine's network configuration is managed remotely and delivered by the DHCP or RPC bootparams protocols, the /etc/nodename file is not used, as the system name is delivered by the remote service.

Given a system name value, regardless of source, the uname utility invoked with the -S option is used to set the system name of the running system.

See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

nis+(1), uname(1), named(1M), ypbind(1M), attributes(5)

The nodename file is modified by Solaris installation and de-installation scripts. The user should not edit the file.