[jdp459]

As I look at this reported issue, I wonder **why** Zimbra can't use normal host files like every other server out there?
We keep 2 hosts files around - 1 for installing and upgrading Zimbra and the other to allow the server to behave inside our network. Seems a trivial 1 line of perl to pull only the hostname.domainname.tld line from the file for whatever Zimbra really requires. Grabbing just the first 2 or 3 fields and ignoring the extras is trivial too.

BTW, we found that an internal DNS isn't required. In our experience, the calls for "split DNS" are not necessary to get Zimbra working in a small enterprise (single server, no proxy). You just need the internal servers to access the internal IP (via /etc/hosts), the external users/servers to use the public MX DNS record for access, and the appropriate ports forwarded from your firewall to the server. DNS is a big hassle if you don't need it for any other purpose than Zimbra and should be avoided, if at all possible.