domainname
Display or set the system's NIS/YP domain name
TLDR
SYNOPSIS
domainname [name]
DESCRIPTION
domainname displays or sets the system's NIS (Network Information Service) domain name. This is different from the DNS domain name and is used for NIS/YP services.Without arguments, it shows the current NIS domain. With an argument, it sets the domain name (requires root privileges). The setting is typically not persistent across reboots without additional configuration.
PARAMETERS
-v, --verbose
Be verbose about actions.-F file, --file file
Read domain name from the specified file.-y, --yp, --nis
Display the NIS domain name (default behavior when invoked as domainname).-h, --help
Display help and exit.-V, --version
Show version information and exit.
CAVEATS
Do not confuse this with the DNS domain name; use dnsdomainname for that. Setting is not persistent by default across reboots. NIS is deprecated in favor of LDAP and Kerberos. Rarely used on modern systems.
HISTORY
domainname dates back to the early days of NIS (originally Yellow Pages, YP), developed at Sun Microsystems in the 1980s. NIS provided centralized authentication and configuration for Unix networks. While largely replaced by LDAP and Kerberos, the command remains for compatibility.
SEE ALSO
hostname(1), dnsdomainname(1)
