Why does NetworkManager change my hostname to "linux.local"?

In /etc/hosts

change:
127.0.0.1 linux.local localhost.localdomain localhost

to:
127.0.0.1 coral localhost.localdomain localhost

Did you by any chance, change your hostname a little while ago?

change:
127.0.0.1 linux.local localhost.localdomain localhost

to:
127.0.0.1 coral localhost.localdomain localhost

I tried that-- the file gets re-written. This is very frustrating. I feel like NetworkManager is overreaching a bit :)

What I did recently was change my DNS server from a proper gateway to a consumer wifi hub. But apparently the problem has always been there.

Please specify your new hostname also in:

sudo nano /etc/hostname

@freedomrun - it is there, in my original post I cat /etc/hostname

~$ cat /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.1.1 coral

should be sufficient. (of course incl. ipv6 lines)

Since 12.04 local dns cache is running there -> 127.0.0.1 dnsmasq
http://www.stgraber.org/2012/02/24/dns-in-ubuntu-12-04/

@Sam_(and-sam), thanks for the suggestion (I am running 10.04 LTS anyway) but it still does not solve the underlying problem, which seems to be: that NetworkManager is rewriting /etc/hosts and confusing the kernel as to the computer's hostname. This happens every time I ask NetworkManager to acquire an IP address. It doesn't matter WLAN or ethernet, or which network I connect to. Here's a sample transcript:

b@coral:~$ sudo hostname coral
b@coral:~$ cat /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
127.0.1.1 coral

b@coral:~$ hostname
coral
b@coral:~$ ## plug in ethernet cable
b@coral:~$ hostname
linux.local
b@coral:~$ cat /etc/hosts
127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost
127.0.1.1 coral

b@coral:~$

Now, strangely, "linux.local" doesn't even show up in /etc/hosts and yet still my computer thinks its hostname is "linux.local". /etc/hostname still reads "coral". I don't know where else to look.

What if hosts only contents localhost as shown in #6?

Where does network-manager get the idea of linux.local from? Is it an entry somewhere in a leftover file?
Or since this is 10.04 it also allows to change computer name in a GUI, iirc system administration menu, personal data or something like that, did you change hostname there?

Is ifupdown managed true or false?
/etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf

http://wiki.debian.org/NetworkManager
http://wiki.debian.org/NetworkConfiguration

## Sigh, since ipv6 launch lp drives me nuts with timeouts and loops.

Do you have your hostname set by the DHCP server at all?

Found this old question with no answer and had a similar problem. You can set a persistent hostname in NetworkManager config file.

In fail/etc/NetworkManager/nm-system-settings.conf add lines:
[keyfile]
hostname={hostname}