“VMware vSphere Profile-Driven Storage Service health alarm” was triggered

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• In the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) under Services, the SPS service shows "Healthy with warnings".
  
  
• Running the following command via SSH returns a CertificateNearingExpiry message:
  
  curl http://localhost:22000/sms/HealthStatus

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><healthStatus schemaVersion="1.0" xmlns="http://www.vmware.com/cis/cm/common/jaxb/healthstatus"><status>YELLOW</status><message messageKey="com.vmware.vim.sms.CertificateNearingExpiry" defaultMessage="Self-signed certificate is expiring on {0}. Please renew the certificate before the expiration date to ensure proper functionality of storage providers."><param xsi:type="xs:string" xmlns:xs="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">[SMS certificate expiration date]</param></message></healthStatus>
  
  Output: YELLOW ####-##-## (Displays the SMS certificate expiration date)

Environment

• vCenter Server 7.x
  
  
• vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

The alarm is triggered when the self-signed SMS certificate is nearing its expiration (typically 90 days prior). In ELM environments, expiring certificates on one vCenter can trigger warnings across linked nodes.

Resolution

Renew the SMS certificate using the vCert tool.

Prerequisites: Take a valid offline snapshot or backup of the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) before proceeding. For Enhanced Linked Mode, power off all linked vCenters and take snapshots simultaneously. Refer VMware vCenter in Enhanced Linked Mode pre-changes snapshot (online or offline) best practice.

1. Download and run the vCert tool.
   
   
2. Select Option 3: Manage certificates.
   
   
3. Select Option 5: SMS certificates → Replace SMS self-signed certificate.
   
   
4. After successful replacement, return to the main menu.
   
   
5. Select Option 8: Restart services → Option 1: Restart all VMware services.
   
   
6. Verify the renewal by selecting View certificate info → Option 5: SMS certificates.
   
   
7. Acknowledge and clear the alarm in the vSphere Client.

Additional Information

If using vCenter HA, destroy the VCHA configuration before taking snapshots.