Cannot set/change dns servers from VAMI UI or using dcli

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

While setting two DNS servers from VAMI or via dcli the update fails with a generic error

vami update fails with a generic error while dcli fails with the following

# dcli com vmware appliance networking dns servers set --mode is_static --servers 10.15.xx.x--servers 10.15.xx.x

Server error: com.vmware.vapi.std.errors.Error

Error message:

    Operation Failed.

Environment

7.x

Cause

One of the DNS servers (like 127.0.0.1) isn't valid for static mode.

The system tries to mix loopback with external DNS entries in a way that's not allowed by the config syntax.

applmgmt.log shows the following error

2025-xx-xxT12:03:23 PM UTC ERROR:vmware.appliance.networking.impl:['/usr/bin/netmgr', 'dns_servers', '--set', '--mode', 'static', '--servers', '127.0.0.1,10.15.xx.x,10.15.xx.x'] error Error: error in config file, rc=209

cat /etc/resolv.conf

nameserver 127.0.0.1
10.15.xx.x
10.15.xx.x
search .

Resolution

Use the /opt/vmware/share/vami/vami_config_net utility to configure the desired DNS servers. During this process you can eliminate 127.0.0.1.