The Computer's host name is invalid

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The Computer's host name is invalid

This Computer's host name is invalid - When trying to setup Open Directory

I have recently erased my Macintosh HD from 10.8 and upgraded to 10.11 and installed Server from the App store.

I have a static IP, I created a A record at my domain host and contacted ISP to setup reverse DNS. I used network utility lookup to check my forward and reverse DNS where working correctly and they both are.

Server is also giving me back the correct host name - computer name and internet is also reachable by the host name.

I then checked Terminal for sudo changeip -checkhostname and I get back success. I have also ran

scutil --get ComputerName

scutil --get HostName
scutil --get LocalHostName

and get the same response as setup in server.

So for some reason when I try to switch on Open Directory I get "This computer's host name is invalid - The host name does not resolve to any configured address of this computer. Please ensure the host name is correct.

DNS is switched off on server as the router is giving out the primary DNS. I have made sure the primary DNS is setup in system preferences - network.

Any help or advice to resolve this issue would be appreciated.

Posted on Oct 23, 2016 4:44 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 14, 2016 6:29 AM in response to pete.holland

I had the same issue, I fixed this by referencing the machine itself as the dns server in the network preferences (turning that on) I'd previously had dyndns running but that was hijacking the dns records.

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Answer 2

Dec 1, 2016 5:32 AM in response to pete.holland

I'm not sure, but you can try restore from Time Machine previous OS and copy certs with name of your computer. Or use other mac like a mirror for OD after restore.

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Answer 3

Dec 5, 2016 8:32 AM in response to pete.holland

For Open Directory purposes or for that matter Active Directory you realistically need to have an internal DNS server. This does not have to be using an officially registered domain in fact most people use a made up private internal only domain although you need to make sure you don't accidentally use someone else's real domain.

The IP address you should then use for the Open Directory server will be your private LAN address e.g. 192.168.x.x and not your Internet IP address.

A common problem at least in the Windows Active Directory world is using the .local domain which conflicts with Bonjour. As you are using Open Directory rather than Active Directory I would hope you would not have intended to use .local anyway but a better choice might be .private which as far as I am aware is not used on the Internet.

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Answer 4

Dec 7, 2016 2:48 PM in response to pete.holland

How long is your computer name? Keeping it under 15 characters was a detail i missed.

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