[vRNI] [3.x] Managing custom certificate files that have been uploaded via an alternative mechanism

Products

• VMware Aria Operations for Networks

Issue/Introduction

Normally, when updating the certificate on a vRealize Network Insight implementation, the custom-cert command is used to copy the new certificate and key files to the system, as can be seen in the following instructions:

How to install a custom certificate on vRealize Network Insight (2148128)

However, SFTP may not be available or may be failing for an unknown reason. This article provides details so that the files can be made available if uploaded through an alternate mechanism.

Symptoms:
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Environment

VMware vRealize Network Insight 3.x

Resolution

In order to stage the custom certificate files for use with the custom-cert command, please use the following instructions.

1. Transfer the files to the system.
   1. Example one: Use sftp to transfer the files to the system.
      1. Using the sftp client of your choice, create a connection to the vRNI VM and log in as the support user.
      2. Select a destination (e.g., /home/support or /tmp) and upload the files.
   2. Example two: Log into the system and transfer the file from a remote location.
      1. Initiate an SSH session to the VM and log in as the support user.
      2. Type 'ub' to change to the ubuntu user.
      3. Change to the custom certificate staging directory: cd /home/ubuntu/custom_certs
      4. Using the preferred method (i.e., ftp, sftp, wget, etc.), transfer the file to the current directory.
2. Initiate an SSH session to the VM and log in as the support user.
3. Type 'ub' to change to the ubuntu user.
4. Move the file to the custom certificate staging directory.
   1. Change to the custom certificate staging directory: cd /home/ubuntu/custom_certs
   2. Move the file to the current directory. For example, the following moves the file custom.crt from the /tmp directory:
       
      sudo mv /tmp/custom.crt .
5. ​Change the owner and group to ubuntu, similar to the following example:
    
   sudo chown ubuntu:ubuntu custom.crt
    
6. Set the appropriate permissions (700) on the file, for example:
    
   sudo chmod 700 custom.crt

Additional Information

For details on the use of the custom-cert command, please refer to the following document:

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vRealize-Network-Insight/3.8/com.vmware.vrni.cli.doc/GUID-16041ACE-6C25-4776-990F-D1E354DB0C71.html?hWord=N4IghgNiBcIMYFcDOAXA9gWwLRwKYCcUACMAB1IgE8QBfIA