bsd man page for gethostid

GETHOSTID(2)							System Calls Manual						      GETHOSTID(2)

NAME
       gethostid, sethostid - get/set unique identifier of current host

SYNOPSIS
       hostid = gethostid()
       long hostid;

       sethostid(hostid)
       long hostid;

DESCRIPTION
       Sethostid  establishes  a  32-bit  identifier  for the current processor that is intended to be unique among all UNIX systems in existence.
       This is normally a DARPA Internet address for the local machine.  This call is allowed only to the super-user and is normally performed	at
       boot time.

       Gethostid returns the 32-bit identifier for the current processor.

SEE ALSO
       hostid(1), gethostname(2)

BUGS
       32 bits for the identifier is too small.

4.2 Berkeley Distribution					 November 28, 1985						      GETHOSTID(2)