diff --git a/cdist/conf/explorer/hostname b/cdist/conf/explorer/hostname
index 7715c6b0..dca004d1 100755
--- a/cdist/conf/explorer/hostname
+++ b/cdist/conf/explorer/hostname
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 #
-# 2010-2014 Nico Schottelius (nico-cdist at schottelius.org)
-# 2012 Steven Armstrong (steven-cdist at armstrong.cc)
+# 2019 Dennis Camera (dennis.camera at ssrq-sds-fds.ch)
 #
 # This file is part of cdist.
 #
@@ -19,7 +18,12 @@
 # along with cdist. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 #
+# Retrieve the running hostname
+#
 
-if command -v uname >/dev/null; then
-   uname -n
+if command -v hostname >/dev/null
+then
+	hostname
+else
+	uname -n
 fi
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/has_hostnamectl b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/has_hostnamectl
index 9040023d..2f531f30 100755
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/has_hostnamectl
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/has_hostnamectl
@@ -21,4 +21,4 @@
 # Check whether system has hostnamectl
 #
 
-command -v hostnamectl || true
+command -v hostnamectl 2>/dev/null || true
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/hostname_file b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/hostname_file
deleted file mode 100755
index 6a00aa9f..00000000
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/hostname_file
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#
-# 2014 Nico Schottelius (nico-cdist at schottelius.org)
-#
-# This file is part of cdist.
-#
-# cdist is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-# (at your option) any later version.
-#
-# cdist is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-# GNU General Public License for more details.
-#
-# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-# along with cdist. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-#
-#
-# Retrieve the contents of /etc/hostname
-#
-
-# Almost any distribution
-if [ -f /etc/hostname ]; then
-    cat /etc/hostname
-# SuSE
-elif [ -f /etc/HOSTNAME ]; then
-    cat /etc/HOSTNAME
-fi
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/hostname_sysconfig b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/hostname_sysconfig
deleted file mode 100755
index d0d7b4e7..00000000
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/hostname_sysconfig
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,26 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-#
-# 2014 Nico Schottelius (nico-cdist at schottelius.org)
-#
-# This file is part of cdist.
-#
-# cdist is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
-# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
-# (at your option) any later version.
-#
-# cdist is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
-# GNU General Public License for more details.
-#
-# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-# along with cdist. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
-#
-#
-# Retrieve the contents of /etc/hostname
-#
-
-if [ -f /etc/sysconfig/network ]; then
-    awk -F= '/^HOSTNAME=/ { print $2 }' /etc/sysconfig/network
-fi
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/max_len b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/max_len
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..fb863949
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/explorer/max_len
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+#!/bin/sh -e
+
+command -v getconf >/dev/null || exit 0
+
+val=$(getconf HOST_NAME_MAX 2>/dev/null) || exit 0
+
+if test -n "${val}" -a "${val}" != 'undefined'
+then
+	echo "${val}"
+fi
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/gencode-remote b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/gencode-remote
index 8b5797dd..ae224611 100755
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/gencode-remote
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/gencode-remote
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #
 # 2014-2017 Steven Armstrong (steven-cdist at armstrong.cc)
 # 2014 Nico Schottelius (nico-cdist at schottelius.org)
+# 2019 Dennis Camera (dennis.camera at ssrq-sds-fds.ch)
 #
 # This file is part of cdist.
 #
@@ -19,60 +20,81 @@
 # along with cdist. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 
-if [ -f "$__object/parameter/name" ]; then
-    name_should="$(cat "$__object/parameter/name")"
-else
-    name_should="${__target_host%%.*}"
-fi
-
 os=$(cat "$__global/explorer/os")
 name_running=$(cat "$__global/explorer/hostname")
-name_config=$(cat "$__object/explorer/hostname_file")
-name_sysconfig=$(cat "$__object/explorer/hostname_sysconfig")
 has_hostnamectl=$(cat "$__object/explorer/has_hostnamectl")
 
+
+if test -s "$__object/parameter/name"
+then
+    name_should=$(cat "$__object/parameter/name")
+else
+    case $os
+    in
+        # RedHat-derivatives and BSDs
+        centos|fedora|redhat|scientific|freebsd|macosx|netbsd|openbsd)
+            # Hostname is FQDN
+            name_should="${__target_host}"
+        ;;
+        *)
+            # Hostname is only first component of FQDN
+            name_should="${__target_host%%.*}"
+        ;;
+    esac
+fi
+
+
 ################################################################################
-# If everything is ok -> exit
+# Check if the (running) hostname is already correct
 #
-case "$os" in
-    archlinux|debian|suse|ubuntu|devuan|coreos|alpine)
-        if [ "$name_config" = "$name_should" ] && [ "$name_running" = "$name_should" ]; then
-            exit 0
-        fi
-    ;;
-    scientific|centos|freebsd|openbsd)
-        if [ "$name_sysconfig" = "$name_should" ] && [ "$name_running" = "$name_should" ]; then
-            exit 0
-        fi
-    ;;
-    *)
-        echo "Unsupported os: $os" >&2
-        exit 1
-    ;;
-esac
+test "$name_running" != "$name_should" || exit 0
+
 
 ################################################################################
 # Setup hostname
 #
-echo changed >> "$__messages_out"
+echo 'changed' >>"$__messages_out"
 
-# Use the good old way to set the hostname even on machines running systemd.
-case "$os" in
-    archlinux|debian|ubuntu|devuan|centos|coreos|alpine)
-        printf "printf '%%s\\\\n' '$name_should' > /etc/hostname\\n"
-        echo "hostname -F /etc/hostname"
+# Use the good old way to set the hostname.
+case $os
+in
+    alpine|debian|devuan|ubuntu)
+        echo 'hostname -F /etc/hostname'
     ;;
-    freebsd|openbsd)
+    archlinux)
+        echo 'command -v hostnamectl >/dev/null 2>&1' \
+            "&& hostnamectl set-hostname '$name_should'" \
+            "|| hostname '$name_should'"
+    ;;
+    centos|fedora|redhat|scientific|freebsd|netbsd|openbsd|gentoo|void)
         echo "hostname '$name_should'"
     ;;
-    suse)
+    macosx)
+        echo "scutil --set HostName '$name_should'"
+    ;;
+    solaris)
+        echo "uname -S '$name_should'"
+    ;;
+    slackware|suse|opensuse-leap)
+        # We do not read from /etc/HOSTNAME, because the running
+        # hostname is the first component only while the file contains
+        # the FQDN.
         echo "hostname '$name_should'"
-        printf "printf '%%s\\\\n' '$name_should' > /etc/HOSTNAME\\n"
+    ;;
+    *)
+        # Fall back to set the hostname using hostnamectl, if available.
+        if test -n "$has_hostnamectl"
+        then
+            # Don't use hostnamectl as the primary means to set the hostname for
+            # systemd systems, because it cannot be trusted to work reliably and
+            # exit with non-zero when it fails (e.g. hostname too long,
+            # D-Bus failure, etc.).
+
+            echo "hostnamectl set-hostname \"\$(cat /etc/hostname)\""
+            echo "test \"\$(hostname)\" = \"\$(cat /etc/hostname)\"" \
+                 " || hostname -F /etc/hostname"
+        else
+            printf "echo 'Unsupported OS: %s' >&2\nexit 1\n" "$os"
+        fi
     ;;
 esac
-
-if [ "$has_hostnamectl" ]; then
-    # Allow hostnamectl set-hostname to fail silently.
-    # Who the fuck invented a tool that needs dbus to set the hostname anyway ...
-    echo "hostnamectl set-hostname '$name_should' || true"
-fi
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/man.rst b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/man.rst
index d23a3b8a..72aefbab 100644
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/man.rst
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/man.rst
@@ -8,7 +8,10 @@ cdist-type__hostname - Set the hostname
 
 DESCRIPTION
 -----------
-Set's the hostname on various operating systems.
+Sets the hostname on various operating systems.
+
+**Tip:** For advice on choosing a hostname, see
+`RFC 1178 <https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1178>`_.
 
 
 REQUIRED PARAMETERS
@@ -18,7 +21,7 @@ None.
 OPTIONAL PARAMETERS
 -------------------
 name
-   The hostname to set. Defaults to the first segment of __target_host 
+   The hostname to set. Defaults to the first segment of __target_host
    (${__target_host%%.*})
 
 
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/manifest b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/manifest
index 8f1adf12..75a90027 100755
--- a/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/manifest
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__hostname/manifest
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 #
 # 2012 Steven Armstrong (steven-cdist at armstrong.cc)
 # 2014 Nico Schottelius (nico-cdist at schottelius.org)
+# 2019 Dennis Camera (dennis.camera at ssrq-sds-fds.ch)
 #
 # This file is part of cdist.
 #
@@ -19,50 +20,170 @@
 # along with cdist. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 #
 
+not_supported() {
+    echo "Your operating system ($os) is currently not supported by this type (${__type##*/})." >&2
+    echo "Please contribute an implementation for it if you can." >&2
+    exit 1
+}
+
+set_hostname_systemd() {
+    echo "$1" | __file /etc/hostname --source -
+}
+
 os=$(cat "$__global/explorer/os")
-if [ -f "$__object/parameter/name" ]; then
-    name_should="$(cat "$__object/parameter/name")"
+os_version=$(cat "$__global/explorer/os_version")
+os_major=$(echo "$os_version" | grep -o '^[0-9][0-9]*')
+
+max_len=$(cat "$__object/explorer/max_len")
+has_hostnamectl=$(cat "$__object/explorer/has_hostnamectl")
+
+if test -s "$__object/parameter/name"
+then
+    name_should=$(cat "$__object/parameter/name")
 else
-    case "$os" in
-    openbsd)
-        name_should="${__target_host}"
-    ;;
-    *)
-        name_should="${__target_host%%.*}"
-    ;;
+    case $os
+    in
+        # RedHat-derivatives and BSDs
+        centos|fedora|redhat|scientific|freebsd|netbsd|openbsd|slackware)
+            # Hostname is FQDN
+            name_should="${__target_host}"
+        ;;
+        suse|opensuse-leap)
+            # Classic SuSE stores the FQDN in /etc/HOSTNAME, while
+            # systemd does not. The running hostname is the first
+            # component in both cases.
+            # In versions before 15.x, the FQDN is stored in /etc/hostname.
+            if test -n "$has_hostnamectl" && test "$os_major" -ge 15 \
+                    && test "$os_major" -ne 42
+            then
+                name_should="${__target_host%%.*}"
+            else
+                name_should="${__target_host}"
+            fi
+        ;;
+        *)
+            # Hostname is only first component of FQDN on all other systems.
+            name_should="${__target_host%%.*}"
+        ;;
     esac
 fi
 
+if test -n "$max_len" && test "$(printf '%s' "$name_should" | wc -c)" -gt "$max_len"
+then
+    printf "Host name too long. Up to %u characters allowed.\n" "${max_len}" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
 
-not_supported() {
-   echo "Your operating system ($os) is currently not supported by this type (${__type##*/})." >&2
-   echo "Please contribute an implementation for it if you can." >&2
-   exit 1
-}
+case $os
+in
+    alpine|debian|devuan|ubuntu|void)
+        echo "$name_should" | __file /etc/hostname --source -
+    ;;
+    archlinux)
+        if test -n "$has_hostnamectl"
+        then
+            set_hostname_systemd "$name_should"
+        else
+            echo 'Ancient ArchLinux variants without hostnamectl are not supported.' >&2
+            exit 1
+            # Only for ancient ArchLinux, write to /etc/rc.conf on pre-systemd
+            # versions.  There are some versions which use /etc/hostname but not
+            # systemd. It is unclear which ones these are.
 
-case "$os" in
-    archlinux|debian|suse|ubuntu|devuan|coreos|alpine)
+            # __key_value '/etc/rc.conf:HOSTNAME' \
+            #     --file /etc/rc.conf \
+            #     --delimiter '=' --exact_delimiter \
+            #     --key 'HOSTNAME' \
+            #     --value "\"$name_should\""
+        fi
+        ;;
+    centos|fedora|redhat|scientific)
+        if test -z "$has_hostnamectl"
+        then
+            # Only write to /etc/sysconfig/network on non-systemd versions.
+            # On systemd-based versions this entry is ignored.
+            __key_value '/etc/sysconfig/network:HOSTNAME' \
+                --file /etc/sysconfig/network \
+                --delimiter '=' --exact_delimiter \
+                --key HOSTNAME \
+                --value "\"$name_should\""
+        else
+            set_hostname_systemd "$name_should"
+        fi
+    ;;
+    gentoo)
+        # Only write to /etc/conf.d/hostname on OpenRC-based installations.
+        # On systemd use hostnamectl(1) in gencode-remote.
+        if test -z "$has_hostnamectl"
+        then
+            __key_value '/etc/conf.d/hostname:hostname' \
+                --file /etc/conf.d/hostname \
+                --delimiter '=' --exact_delimiter \
+                --key 'hostname' \
+                --value "\"$name_should\""
+        else
+            set_hostname_systemd "$name_should"
+        fi
+    ;;
+    freebsd)
+        __key_value '/etc/rc.conf:hostname' \
+            --file /etc/rc.conf \
+            --delimiter '=' --exact_delimiter \
+            --key 'hostname' \
+            --value "\"$name_should\""
+    ;;
+    macosx)
         # handled in gencode-remote
         :
     ;;
-    scientific|centos)
-        __key_value sysconfig-hostname \
-            --file /etc/sysconfig/network \
-            --delimiter '=' \
-            --key HOSTNAME \
-            --value "$name_should" --exact_delimiter
-    ;;
-    freebsd)
-        __key_value rcconf-hostname \
+    netbsd)
+        __key_value '/etc/rc.conf:hostname' \
             --file /etc/rc.conf \
-            --delimiter '=' \
+            --delimiter '=' --exact_delimiter \
             --key 'hostname' \
-            --value "$name_should"
+            --value "\"$name_should\""
+
+        # To avoid confusion, ensure that the hostname is only stored once.
+        __file /etc/myname --state absent
     ;;
     openbsd)
         echo "$name_should" | __file /etc/myname --source -
     ;;
+    slackware)
+        # We write the FQDN into /etc/HOSTNAME.  But /etc/rc.d/rc.M will only
+        # read the first component from this file and set it as the running
+        # hostname on boot.
+        echo "$name_should" | __file /etc/HOSTNAME --source -
+    ;;
+    solaris)
+        echo "$name_should" | __file /etc/nodename --source -
+    ;;
+    suse|opensuse-leap)
+        # Modern SuSE provides /etc/HOSTNAME as a symlink for
+        # backwards-compatibility. Unfortunately it cannot be used
+        # here as __file does not follow the symlink.
+        # Therefore, we use the presence of the hostnamectl binary as
+        # an indication of which file to use.  This unfortunately does
+        # not work correctly on openSUSE 12.x which provides
+        # hostnamectl but not /etc/hostname.
+
+        if test -n "$has_hostnamectl" -a "$os_major" -gt 12
+        then
+            hostname_file='/etc/hostname'
+        else
+            hostname_file='/etc/HOSTNAME'
+        fi
+
+        echo "$name_should" | __file "$hostname_file" --source -
+    ;;
     *)
-        not_supported
+        # On other operating systems we fall back to systemd's
+        # hostnamectl if available…
+        if test -n "$has_hostnamectl"
+        then
+            set_hostname_systemd "$name_should"
+        else
+            not_supported
+        fi
     ;;
 esac