I’m always forgetting how to register my machine name with the DHCP server so I can ping my box without having to remember my IP address. Here’s how to do it on Fedora Core 9:

1. Set the hostname: `# hostname <hostname>`
2. Add ‘HOSTNAME=<hostname>’ to ‘/etc/sysconfig/network’ (makes the change permanent).
3. Add ‘DHCP_HOSTNAME=<hostname>’ to ‘/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0′
4. Restart the networking service: `# service network restart`

Volia! Now you can connect to your box via hostname.

References:

• Configuring Linux Static DHCP Clients by Sending Host Name
• Linux setting hostname and domain name of my server