[VMC on AWS] Unable to access vCenter when using an alias

Products

• VMware Cloud on AWS

Issue/Introduction

The login page fails to load when connecting to vCenter using an alias or "shortname". 
In some cases, the following error is seen:
[400] An error occurred while sending an authentication request to the vCenter Single Sign-On server - An error occurred when processing metadata during vCenter Single Sign-On setup: the service provider validation failed. Verify that the server URL is correct and is in FQDN format, or that the hostname is a trusted service provider alias

Environment

VMC on AWS

Cause

• An alias has been configured for vCenter in a VMC on AWS SDDC. 
• No changes have been made within vCenter to allow the use of an alias. 

Resolution

• Connecting to vCenter with an alias requires additional configurations within vCenter. 
• These changes cannot be made due to the privileges assigned to the [email protected] account and the cloudadmin role. 
• The only supported method of connecting to a VMC on AWS vCenter is by using the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). 

Additional Information

Connect to vCenter Server