HP-UX Reference (11i v2 03/08) - 1M System Administration Commands N-Z (vol 4)

s
set_parms(1M) set_parms(1M)
NAME
set_parms - set up system hostname, networking, date/time and root password
SYNOPSIS
set_parms hostname | timezone | date_time | root_passwd | ip_address | taddl_netwrk
set_parms initial
DESCRIPTION
set_parms is an interactive system set up program which allows the user to set up various important
system parameters when first booting up a newly installed operating system. In a first boot situation,
set_parms is invoked automatically by
/sbin/auto_parms
.Forset_parms purposes, first boot is
defined as having no hostname set when the system starts up. This causes
set_parms to step through
all of its sub-areas to allow the user to set a hostname, select the proper timezone for the system’s loca-
tion, set the date and time, set a root password, and set an IP address, netmask, default routing, DNS,
and NIS information.
After the system has booted and is running,
set_parms may also be called directly from the command
line to finish setting up a particular sub-area (first form above), or to step through all areas (via
set_parms initial ) similar to how it works at first boot. There are certain limitations to its actions
when it’s run after first boot, see below.
set_parms has two available user interfaces: a terminal-based interface and a graphical interface. At
first boot, the graphical interface will be used if the system console is a graphics device, otherwise a ter-
minal interface is used. If called on a normal running system, the graphical interface will be used if and
only if a DISPLAY variable is set in the user’s environment and an X server can be contacted at the host
referenced in the DISPLAY variable. If run under CDE, set_parms should select the graphical inter-
face.
set_parms is also DHCP-aware. If the user attempts to change DHCP supplied data such as the host-
name or IP address, set_parms will issue a warning. If the user continues with the changes, then
set_parms will relinquish the DHCP lease. On first boot, set_parms will ask the user if he would
like to try getting set up data from a DHCP server.
set_parms can only be run by the super-user.
Options
Each sub-area is described below. In a first boot situation, all of the sub-areas are run sequentially. Spe-
cial first boot behavior is noted if applicable, along with any concerns when calling
set_parms on a run-
ning system. When calling a sub-area directly, only a unique portion of the sub-area name must be given.
hostname Sets the system hostname. Validates a user supplied hostname according to host naming
conventions and sets various system initialization variables to operate with that host-
name. Particularly, it edits
/etc/hosts to associate the new hostname with the
current IP address of the system, if that can be determined. First boot : Also allows the
user to specify a DHCP server to get hostname and networking information from, then
confirms the information.
WARNING:
set_parms does not know about optionally installed software when chang-
ing the hostname. If such software remembers the previous hostname, then it may not
work properly after the hostname is changed.
A mechanism is provided that helps generalize the hostname changing function.
set_parms will call, in ls(1) sorted order, any executable programs installed in the
directory /sbin/ch_hostname.d. This occurs in first boot or non-first boot calls. HP
may in the future supply special programs in this location. The system administrator
may also supply custom programs for site installations using, for example, Ignite-UX.
The system must be rebooted after the hostname is changed for it to take full effect.
timezone Allows the user to select a timezone based on the country of location. Also allows setting
a user-supplied timezone. The system will need to be rebooted for a change to take effect.
date_time Allows the user to set the system date and time interactively. The change takes effect
immediately.
root_passwd Allows the user to set or change the root password of the system. This function just calls
the passwd(1) command.
HP-UX 11i Version 2: August 2003 − 1 − Hewlett-Packard Company Section 1M−−757