Changes to ESXi 7.0 U3 hosts /etc/hosts or /etc/resolv.conf revert after reboot

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Customer might rely on the behavior that directly modify /etc/hosts and /etc/resolv.conf, can be persistent across reboot.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.3

Cause

From 7.0 U3 on, content of /etc/hosts and /etc/resolv.conf are moved to configstore. They are no longer sticky bit file.
Direct update using text editor will not be Persistent across reboot. User should use public cli  or API to update them.

Resolution

Use the esxcli command to modify the contents of /etc/hosts and /etc/resolv.conf.

- For /etc/hosts, following is supported：

Configure the DNS Hosts File by Using ESXCLI Commands

esxcli network ip hosts list
esxcli network ip hosts add
esxcli network ip hosts remove

- For /etc/resolv.conf, following is supported:

1.   Configure the resolv.conf File by Using esxcli Commands

      esxcli network ip dns server add

2.  Configure with DCUI

     Configuring VMware ESXi Management Network from the direct console

3.  API

     Data Object - HostDnsConfig(vim.host.DnsConfig)

Additional Information

Refer: vSphere ESXi 7.0 U3 VPXA configuration properties

　　　Configure the DNS Hosts File by Using ESXCLI Commands

           Configure the resolv.conf File by Using esxcli Commands