Not all platforms running cloud-init end up with the system hostname resolveable by default

This bug was originally filed in Launchpad as [LP: #1741277](https://bugs.launchpad.net/cloud-init/+bug/1741277)

Launchpad details

affected_projects = ['cloud-images', 'cloud-init (Ubuntu)']

assignee = None

assignee_name = None

date_closed = None

date_created = 2018-01-04T15:05:13.488874+00:00

date_fix_committed = None

date_fix_released = None

id = 1741277

importance = undecided

is_complete = False

lp_url = https://bugs.launchpad.net/cloud-init/+bug/1741277

milestone = None

owner = smoser

owner_name = Scott Moser

private = False

status = confirmed

submitter = racb

submitter_name = Robie Basak

tags = []

duplicates = []

_Launchpad user **Robie Basak(racb)** wrote on 2018-01-04T15:05:13.488874+00:00_

Except for existing setups, almost everyone will want manage_etc_hosts: localhost by default. Without this, various things end up broken because a system can't look up its own hostname.

Are there any use cases where a default of manage_etc_hosts: localhost will cause problems?

To avoid stepping on people's toes, I'm not suggesting making the change retrospectively. But if new Ubuntu releases start doing it (eg. with Bionic) and old releases maintain existing behaviour, then we'd get there over time. Is there any existing mechanism or process for changing cloud-init defaults like this?