Unable to SSH as root into Usage Meter appliance

Products

• VMware Usage Meter

Issue/Introduction

When trying to SSH into the Usage Meter appliance as user root, the below error is observed

Access Denied

The same password works on the VM console and the VAMI page 

The Usage Meter root password meets the requirements. 

Environment

VCF Usage Meter 9.0

Cause

The PermitRootLogin parameter is set to no on the appliance 

Resolution

To resolve this issue, follow the below steps:

1. Login to the Usage Meter appliance as root through the VM Console 
2. Run the below command to edit the required file
   
   

   vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

   
   
   
3. Press Insert or I on the keyboard to enter edit mode 
4. Locate the below parameter and change it from no to yes 
   
   

   PermitRootLogin

   
   
   
5. Hit Esc and enter the below to save the changes 
6. Retry the root login through SSH now. 

Additional Information

If the root account is locked, follow the below steps to unlock it

1. In the vSphere Web Client, restart the guest operating system of the vCloud Usage Meter appliance.

2. Click the console and wait for the Photon OS splash screen to appear.

3. Press e to go to the GNU GRUB boot menu editor. The GNU GRUB menu remains on the screen for several seconds before it starts the boot sequence.

4. Use the arrow keys to go to the line that begins with linux and append the rw init=/bin/bash string at the end of the line.

5. To boot the system, press Ctrl+X or F10.

6. Unlock the root account by running the below command and follow the resolution steps. 
   
   

   faillock --reset --user root