Error: Connector communication failed because of invalid data when testing Active Directory in VMware Identity Manager

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• Testing the connection with Active Directory in VMware Identity Manager (vIDM) fails with the following error:

  "Connector Communication failed because of invalid data. The specified Bind DN and password could not be used to succesfully authenticate against the directory."

• /opt/vmware/horizon/workspace/logs/connector.log will report the following error

  ERROR (tomcat-http--17) [vidm_node_name;admin@vidm_node_name;<IP_address>;] com.vmware.horizon.connector.admin.controller.DirectoryController - Error occurred while verifying the Directory configuration.
  com.vmware.horizon.connector.exception.ConfigurationVerificationException: Unable to bind to the directory
  
  Caused by: com.vmware.horizon.directory.DirectoryServiceException: Authentication failed for the given user name and password
          at com.vmware.horizon.directory.ldap.LdapConnector.createLdapContext(LdapConnector.java:1460) ~[adapter-ldap-0.1.jar:3.3.7.0 Build 25163938]
  
  Caused by: javax.naming.AuthenticationNotSupportedException: [LDAP: error code 8 - 00002028: LdapErr: DSID-0C09035A, comment: The server requires binds to turn on integrity checking if SSL\TLS are not already active on the connection, data 0, data_id^@]

Environment

VMware Identity Manager 3.3.7

Cause

The authentication failure is caused by an incorrectly formatted Base DN specified in the directory connection settings.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, perform the following steps:

1. Log in to the VMware Identity Manager admin console as a local administrator.
2. Navigate to Identity & Access Management > Directories.
3. Select the affected directory configuration.
4. Locate the Base DN field.
5. Update the Base DN to use the correct domain-level format corresponding to your Active Directory structure.
6. Click Save and verify the connection.
   • Reference KB: Unable to Authenticate AD Users in vIDM When Using OU in Base DN

If the issue persists, ensure that Active Directory accepts encrypted or non-encrypted connections:

1. Log in to the vIDM UI as the local admin.
2. In the Administrator Console, click on Identity & Access Management.
3. Click on the Active Directory profile.
4. Enable the Encryption option and provide the CA Root certificate information.

Additional Information

For further information, review Set Up Active Directory or LDAP Directory Connections.

If you require further assistance, contact Broadcom Support.