[Samba] Renaming a computer on a Samba domain

[Gary Dale]

No it doesn't.  :)

Most companies simply keep record of who has what equipment. Assign an 
inventory number to the asset then record the current holder of that 
asset. This allows you to keep track of the full life cycle of the 
asset. Changing the identifier every time the asset gets reassigned 
prevents this.

This is asset/inventory control 101.

However, I'm also guess that you don't want any old files left on the 
computers when they change departments. You should be re-imaging the 
drives each time they move. So use LDAP transactions to remove the old 
computer names from the domain. Re-image the drives and join them to the 
domain with their new names. Apart from the LDAP transaction, this is 
the same as not changing the name.

If you're not re-imaging then I have to ask why not? However, I don't 
believe you need to leave the domain to change a name. Have you tried 
logging on with a local account then joining the domain with the new 
name? Removing the old name from the LDAP database should be sufficient.


Jason Somers wrote:
> Clients are NFP, and have about 100 workstations. Once or twice a 
> year, they get grants for upwards of 10 new systems. These systems get 
> distributed to those with the most need, and in turn, their systems 
> get passed to whomever has computers less powerful than those.  System 
> names reflect different departments and subdepartments, so if you move 
> a computer anywhere, its name must change.
>
> Make sense?
>
> -Jason
>
> =================================================
> Jason Somers
> Network Administrator
> Red Barn Technology Group, Inc.
> 1235 Front Street - Suite 3
> Binghamton, NY 13905
> (607) 772-1888 x222
>
>
>
> Gary Dale wrote:
>> Jason Somers wrote:
>>> We shift computers around a lot, and therefore need to rename 
>>> several whenever we get new batches of systems in.
>>>
>>> Tried simply renaming a system while on the domain, but got an 
>>> "access denied" error. I WAS able to disjoin the domain, remove the 
>>> LDAP entry for the computer, log in as a local administrator, rename 
>>> the computer, and rejoin the domain a different computer name.
>>>
>>> However, this is a HUGE pain. The number of reboots alone is a 
>>> genuine time-killer. Doing it one several systems can waste an 
>>> entire day. Does anyone have any suggestions?
>>>
>>> Thanks!
>>> Jason
>>>
>> Can you be more specific about what you are doing and why?
>>
>> I surmise that you are renaming existing Windows boxes when you get 
>> in new computers, but are the Windows boxes servers or desktops? And 
>> why do you need to rename in the first place? What happens to the old 
>> boxes?
>>
>> The reason I ask is that there are possibly better solutions than 
>> renaming computers. This is especially true if you are doing this 
>> frequently.