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Configure the Hostname of a Device in a Configuration Group

The hostname of a device running Junos OS device is its identification. A network device must have its identity established to be accessible on the network. That is perhaps the most important reason to have a hostname, but a hostname also has other purposes.

Junos OS uses the configured hostname as part of the command prompt and to prepend log files and other accounting information. The hostname is also used anywhere else where knowing the device identity is important. For these reasons, we recommend that you provide hostnames that are descriptive and memorable.

You can configure the hostname at the [edit system] hierarchy level. Optionally, instead of configuring the hostname at the [edit system] hierarchy level, you can use a configuration group, as shown in this procedure. This is a recommended best practice for configuring the hostname, especially if the device has dual Routing Engines. This procedure uses groups called re0 and re1 as an example.

Note:

If you configure hostnames that are longer than the CLI screen width, regardless of the terminal screen width setting, the commit operation occurs successfully. Even if the terminal screen width is less than the hostname length, the commit is successful.

To set the hostname by using a configuration group:

  1. Include the host-name statement at the [edit groups group-name system] hierarchy level.

    The hostname value must be less than 256 characters.

    For example:

  2. If you used one or more configuration groups, apply the configuration groups, substituting the appropriate group names.

    For example:

  3. Commit the changes.

    The hostname appears in the device CLI prompt.