I got tired of editing my /etc/hosts by hand to adapt my network configuration depending on if I'm at home or at the office. So I decided to hack something on the initscripts:

1. Edit /boot/grub/menu.lst and duplicate some entries adding a LOCATION={home|office} parameter:

   title Fedora Core (2.6.8-1.521) Office
           root (hd0,0)
           kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.8-1.521 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet LOCATION=office
           initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.8-1.521.img
   
    title Fedora Core (2.6.8-1.521) Home
           root (hd0,0)
           kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.8-1.521 ro root=LABEL=/ rhgb quiet LOCATION=home
           initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.8-1.521.img
     

2. Write a System V script (actually copying an existing one and adapting) called location which copies the right /etc/hosts. Note the chkconfig lines at the beginning of the file:

   #!/bin/bash
   #
   # chkconfig: 2345 90 10
   # description: little script to configure some stuff depending if the laptop \
   #              is at the office or at home
   
    # source function library
   . /etc/init.d/functions
   
    start () {
       echo $"$LOCATION"
       if [ -e /etc/hosts.$LOCATION ]; then
           cp /etc/hosts.$LOCATION /etc/hosts
       else
           echo $"localized hosts file not found"
       fi
   }
   
    stop () {
       echo "Have a good day"
   }
   
    case "$1" in
       start)
           start
           ;;
       stop)
           stop
           ;;
       restart|reload)
           stop
           start
           ;;
       *)
           echo $"Usage: $0 {start|stop|restart}"
           exit 1
   esac
   
    exit 0
   

3. Install the location script with chkconfig:

   [root@i8100] chkconfig location on

4. Write /etc/hosts.home and /etc/home.office

That's all. Next time I reboot I will have my right network configuration just by selecting one grub menu item. :-)