Hostname configurations in VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8.14+

Products

VMware Aria Suite

Issue/Introduction

The service loginsight_set_hostname.service in the VMware Aria Operations for Logs appliance versions 8.14 and higher dynamically sets a hostname when the appliance is booting.

Environment

VMware Aria Operations for Logs 8.14.x and higher

Cause

loginsight_set_hostname.service sets the hostname by

retrieving information from the VMware environment using vmware-rpctool
```
/usr/bin/vmware-rpctool 'info-get guestinfo.ovfEnv' | grep hostname
```
If vmware-rpctool returns an empty value or no value, the hostname is set to the result of a reverse DNS query for the appliance VM's IP address.
If both vmware-rpctool and reverse DNS lookup fail to return a value, the hostname is set to localhost

Resolution

Restoring the 'vApp Options' properties in Aria Operations for Logs.

Updating the hostname via Command Line interface.

Note: It is recommended to take a snapshot before following the steps below.

Steps to change the hostname of VMware Aria Operations for Logs appliance.

Select the VMware Aria Operations for Logs VM in the vSphere Web Client and click Power > Shut Down Guest OS
Navigate to the Configure tab and click vApp Options

Note: If vApp Options are currently disabled, use steps from Restoring the vApp properties in Aria Operations for Logs
Under Properties, select the key named hostname
Click SET VALUE, enter the desired hostname and click OK
Power on the VM
Verify that the DNS Name under the Virtual Machine Details on the VM Summary page in the vSphere Web Console is updated successfully
Log in to the Aria Operations for Logs VM as root via vSphere Console or SSH
Verify that the hostname is updated successfully by executing
```
hostname
hostnamectl | grep hostname
cat /etc/hosts
```

Note: When unable to use vApp Options in the environment, update the DNS server used by the Aria Operations for Logs appliance VM with a Pointer (PTR) record that relates the VM's IP to the correct hostname.

If the above doesn't resolve follow the below steps to update the hosts file via Command line interface.

Steps to change the hostname when vApp Options are disabled, and no DNS servers available

Log in to the Aria Operations for Logs VM as root via vSphere Console or SSH
Create a file named 'hostname.sh' in the current directory by the running the below command:
```
vi hostname.sh
```

Copy the script below to update the /etc/hosts file with the new hostname

systemctl disable loginsight_set_hostname.service
/opt/vmware/bin/init/set_hostname.py
current=`hostname`
if [[ $current == *.* ]]; then
    current_name=$(echo "$current" | cut -d '.' -f1);
    current="$current $current_name";
fi
hostnamectl set-hostname your_new_hostname

#NOTE: change your_new_hostname with the desired hostname

new=`hostname`
if [[ $new == *.* ]]; then
    new_name=$(echo "$new" | cut -d '.' -f1);
    new="$new $new_name";
fi
sed -i "/^127\.0\.0\.1\|^::1/! s/\b$current\b/$new/" /etc/hosts

Save the file and change permission by running the below command:
```
chmod 777 hostname.sh
```
Run the below command to execute the script
```
./hostname.sh
```
Verify that the hostname is updated successfully by executing
```
hostname
hostnamectl | grep hostname
cat /etc/hosts
```

Note: When changing the hostname using this method, it may be reverted after upgrading the version of VMware Aria Operations for Logs. In that case, the procedure should be re-executed.