VCF Operations root account showing disconnected in VCF Operations Manager UI

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager
• VMware Cloud Foundation
• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

When viewing the Fleet Manager > Password > VCF Management section in the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Operations Manager UI, the root account displays a Disconnected status.

This issue may affect one or more VCF Operations appliances, including Cloud Proxy nodes.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.x

VMware vSphere Foundation 9.x

Cause

This issue occurs when the root password for the VCF Operations appliance operating system has expired. When the password expires, the Operations Manager can no longer authenticate with the node to monitor its status, resulting in the "Disconnected" state.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, the expired password must be reset directly on the operating system of the affected nodes, followed by a remediation task within the Fleet Manager

Step 1: Prepare the Cluster

1. Log in to the VCF Operations Manager Admin UI (typically https://<FQDN>/admin).

2. Click Take Offline under the Cluster Status section to take the cluster offline.

3. Once the cluster is completely offline, take a snapshot of all affected virtual machines (VCF Operations nodes and/or Cloud Proxies) via the vSphere Client.

   • Ensure Quiesce guest file system and Snapshot the virtual machine's memory are unchecked.

Note: If the cluster cannot be taken offline or brought online via the Admin UI buttons, refer to the manual procedures outlined in Shutdown and startup sequence for Aria Operations cluster nodes (KB 341964) to safely restart the nodes.

Step 2: Reset the Appliance Password

Perform the following procedure for each appliance showing the disconnected status:

1. Open the Web Console or Remote Console for the appliance via the vCenter Server.

2. Log in using the root account and the current (expired) password.

3. The system will immediately prompt that the password has expired.

4. Enter the current password again to verify identity.

5. Enter a new password and confirm it.

   • Critical Note: Avoid using special characters such as !, #, %, &, |, <, >, ;, ', or " in the new password to prevent potential parsing issues within the application.

6. Flush the new password data to disk by executing the following command:

   sync
   
   

    

Step 3: Bring the Cluster Online

1. Return to the VCF Operations Manager Admin UI.

2. Click Bring Online to start the cluster.

3. Wait for the startup process to complete and verify that the cluster status reports as healthy.
   
   

Step 4: Remediate Password in Fleet Manager

1. Log in to the primary VCF Operations Manager UI.

2. Navigate to Fleet Manager > Password > VCF Management.

3. Select one of the accounts currently showing the Disconnected status.

4. Click Remediate.

5. Enter the newly configured password from Step 2.

6. Once the remediation is successful and the status changes to connected, repeat this step for any remaining disconnected accounts.

Additional Information

Since the system performs password validation checks periodically, it may take anywhere from 1 to 24 hours for the account status to visibly update to Active (green) in the UI after a successful remediation.