diff --git a/doc/start/ceph.conf b/doc/start/ceph.conf
index b12a310518e..1c9210bb508 100644
--- a/doc/start/ceph.conf
+++ b/doc/start/ceph.conf
@@ -2,15 +2,21 @@
 	osd journal size = 1000
 	filestore xattr use omap = true
 
+	# Execute $ hostname to retrieve the name of your host,
+	# and replace {hostname} with the name of your host.
+	# For the monitor, replace {ip-address} with the IP
+	# address of your host.
+
 [mon.a]
-	host = localhost
-	mon addr = 127.0.0.1:6789
+
+	host = {hostname}
+	mon addr = {ip-address}:6789
 
 [osd.0]
-	host = localhost
+	host = {hostname}
 
 [osd.1]
-	host = localhost
+	host = {hostname}
 
 [mds.a]
-	host = localhost
+	host = {hostname}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/doc/start/quick-start.rst b/doc/start/quick-start.rst
index fe8387902cd..a9874f4dacb 100644
--- a/doc/start/quick-start.rst
+++ b/doc/start/quick-start.rst
@@ -30,12 +30,14 @@ install Ceph. ::
 Add a Configuration File
 ------------------------
 
-Modify the contents of the following configuration file such that
-``localhost`` is the actual host name, and the monitor IP address 
-is the actual IP address of the host (i.e., not 127.0.0.1).Then, 
-copy the contents of the modified configuration file and save it to
-``/etc/ceph/ceph.conf``. This file will configure Ceph to operate a monitor, 
-two OSD daemons and one metadata server on your local machine. 
+Execute ``hostname`` on the command line to retrieve the name of your 
+host. Then, replace ``{localhost}`` in the sample configuration file
+with your host name. Execute ``ifconfig`` on the command line to
+retrieve the IP address of your host. Then, replace ``{ip-address}``
+with the IP address of your host. Finally, copy the contents of the 
+modified configuration file and save it to ``/etc/ceph/ceph.conf``. 
+This file will configure Ceph to operate a monitor,  two OSD daemons 
+and one metadata server on your local machine. 
 
 .. literalinclude:: ceph.conf
    :language: ini