Avoid VMware Cloud Director Appliance re-initializations after a power cycle or restart

Products

• VMware Cloud Director

Issue/Introduction

• After appliance deployment, the /opt/vmware/etc/vami/flags/vami_firstboot file still exists.
• The Appliance Management UI redirects to Appliance System Setup.
• Logging into the Appliance requires resetting the root password.
• When accessing the Appliance Management UI  or VMware Cloud Director UI, the browser will warn the user that the certs are not trusted, with the following error: NET::ERR_CERT_AUTHORITY_INVALID or MOZILLA_PKIX_ERROR_SELF_SIGNED_CERT

Note: This error message may differ in different browsers.

 

In Chrome and Edge:

Your connection is not private

In Mozilla:

Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead

• Connection to VM Consoles fails.
• The Appliance vpostgres service is stopped.

Environment

VMware Cloud Director 10.x

Cause

This is a known issue affecting Cloud Director versions 10.1.3, 10.2.1 and 10.2.2. This issue occurs when the /opt/vmware/etc/vami/flags/vami_firstboot file is not deleted after setup. Rebooting the appliance in this state triggers a re-initialization.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, see Repairing a VMware Cloud Director Appliance that was re-initialized

Workaround:
To prevent this issue, on each Appliance in the server group delete /opt/vmware/etc/vami/flags/vami_firstboot if it exists.

1. Connect to the Appliance through Console or an SSH session.
2. Run this command:

rm /opt/vmware/etc/vami/flags/vami_firstboot