VCD fails to connect to AVI controller after admin password reset

Products

• VMware Cloud Director

Issue/Introduction

• After the AVI Controller admin password expired and was changed, VCD is unable to establish a connection to the AVI Controller using the configured Virtual IP (VIP). When testing the connection from VCD, the following error is returned:
  HTTP failure response for https://<vcd fqdn>/cloudapi/1.0.0/testconnection: 0 unknown error
• This error indicates that VCD cannot authenticate to the AVI Controller.

Environment

VMware Cloud Director 10.x

Cause

VCD stores the AVI Controller admin credentials in its internal database table (load_balancer_controllers). If the password is changed directly on the AVI Controller but not updated within VCD, the credentials become mismatched.
This mismatch leads to authentication failure, potentially causing redirect loops, broken sessions, or token negotiation issues during login attempts.

Resolution

To resolve the issue, update the AVI Controller password in VCD as follows:

1. Launch VCD Provider Portal
   
   

2. Navigate to Infrastructure Resources > NSX-ALB > Controllers.

3. Click the ⋮ (three-dot menu) next to the controller entry and select Edit.

4. Enter the new admin password and click Save.

5. Re-run the Test Connection to confirm successful connectivity.

By updating the password through the VCD UI, the internal database is synchronized, resolving the authentication issue.

Additional Information

Redirect errors are often caused by invalid session tokens and can typically be resolved by re-authenticating or resetting the session after credential updates.