"Hostresponse empty or did not contain cookie. For ucsm: Incorrect User Name or Password." error reported when configuring Cisco UCS Adapter

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to add the Cisco UCS adapter, the following error is observed:
  Failed to log in to "hostname" as either a central or ucsm endpoint. For central: Hostresponse empty or did not contain cookie. For ucsm: Incorrect User Name or Password.

•  Direct call via curl to Cisco UCS Manager via API fails.

  curl -k --request POST \
  --url https://USCM_Ip:443/nuova \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/xml' \
  --data '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><aaaLogin inPassword="PASSWORD" inName="USERNAME"/>' 

• (vROPs)  /logs/adapters/CiscoUCSAdapter/CiscoUCSAdapter_27977.log  (Example):

   

  Unexpected exception while testing connection: class com.bluemedora.exuno.common.ExUnoException - Failed to log in to "FQDN UCS"  as either a central or ucsm endpoint. For central: Host response empty or did not contain cookie. For ucsm: Incorrect username or password.
        Type:       Can complete connection test.
        Result:     Failed
        Message:    Failed to log in to "FQDN UCS" as either a central or ucsm endpoint. For central: Host response empty or did not contain cookie.

  For ucsm: Incorrect username or password.

  
  2025-09-26T20:29:06,210+0000 ERROR [Collector worker thread 13] (24750) com.bluemedora.vrealize.adapter.ciscoucs.generated.CollectionResultCache.getResult - Error performing collection: Caught an exception while collecting: Failed to log in to "FQDN UCS"

  as either a central or ucsm endpoint. For central: Host response empty or did not contain cookie. For ucsm: Incorrect username or password.

  
  com.bluemedora.exuno.common.ExUnoException: Caught an exception while collecting: Failed to log in to "FQDN UCS" as either a central or ucsm endpoint. For central: Host response empty or did not contain cookie. For ucsm: Incorrect username or password.

Environment

VCF Operations 9.0

Cause

The Management Pack relies on a Cisco UCS API call for authentication, and since it is currently failing, it also prevents adapter instance configuration. 

Resolution

As the root cause lies within Cisco UCS Manager, this is outside the scope of Aria Operations troubleshooting. A Cisco support ticket should be raised for deeper investigation.

However, the following basic checks are recommended:

1. Create a new user in Cisco UCS Manager and test the API login.

   • If the call fails, the issue may relate to missing API privileges for that user, even if the UI login works.

   • If the call succeeds, the problem could be with the original admin account. Consider testing with a simple username/password to eliminate parsing issues.

2. Review Cisco UCS Manager logs for details on the 551 error.

3. The following are potential causes of a 551 error on Cisco UCS Manager:

   • Incorrect Username/Password: Credentials are invalid or expired.

   • Account Locked: Multiple failed attempts may have locked the account.

   • AAA Disabled or Misconfiguration: Authentication, Authorization, or Accounting services may be disabled or configured incorrectly.

   • IP Access Restrictions: UCSM may limit API access to specific IPs or subnets.

   • Service Availability: UCS Manager may not be running or accessible on port 443.

Further investigation will need to be handled by Cisco, and once the API authentication issue is resolved, the Management Pack should function as expected.