Correctly
Configure /etc/hosts and /etc/hostname Files
I
have laid out a
procedure to correctly configure your /etc/hosts and /ect/hostname
files. Improperly configured hsots and hostname files can
cuase
internet slowdown and even slow down application launching.
What happens in Ubuntu is that a lot
of applications accesses the internet. A
while back I
was experiencing a terrible internet slowdown and applications took
forever to launch. My windows partitions were still running
fast
so I knew the cable modem and router were OK. When I
disconnected
the cable from my PC then applications launched far quicker.
Ubuntu knew that there was no internet connected so it did
not
wait at all. It seems that when in Ubuntu when applications
that
are lunched access the internet there is a 75 second minimum period of
searching for intenet. I don't profess to be an expert on
Ubuntu
networking theory but I do know that this procedure works.
By default the /etc/hosts file has way too many parameters.
To edit your hosts file type this in a terminal:
sudo
gedit /etc/hosts
The only line your hosts file should have is the following:
127.0.0.1
localhost bob-laptop
I have used bob-laptop for example, replace bob-laptop with your
machine's name. All other line you will need to comment them
out.
To comment out a line put a # as the first character
in that
line. When done save the file.
Now lets configure the hostname file. Type the following
command in a terminal:
sudo
gedit /etc/hostname
This file too should only have one line as well:
bob-laptop
Again replace bob-laptop with the name of your machine.
Again comment out any other lines in this file. Save and
reboot. Your applications should now launch quickly.
To help speed up the internet click apply OpenDNS to your setup.
Click here to
configure OpenDNS on your
machine.
I hope this procedure helps.