SDDC Manager Backup Service Account Status Disconnected.

Products

• VMware Cloud Foundation
• VMware SDDC Manager

Issue/Introduction

• The SDDC Manager Dashboard displays a Disconnected status for the internal Backup service account.
• Manual password synchronization attempts via SSH (passwd backup) do not resolve the status in the UI.
• Remediation tasks initiated via the SDDC Manager GUI fail consistently.
• Automated backups for management and workload components are failing due to authentication errors.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation 5.x

Cause

The issue is primarily caused by Out-of-Band (OOB) credential changes and Inventory Metadata Locking.

1. Credentials for the Backup account were modified outside of the SDDC Manager’s standard Lifecycle Management (LCM) flow.
2. SDDC Manager requires a Green or Stable inventory state to perform password rotation or remediation. In this instance, a failed or partial Workload Domain (WLD) deployment created a task buffer lock.
3. The SDDC Manager continued to poll the status of the Deploying WLD, preventing the password remediation task from acquiring the necessary locks to update the internal database.

Resolution

Step 1: Cleanup of Failed Workflows

1. Log in to the SDDC Manager UI.
2. Navigate to Inventory > Workload Domains.
3. Identify the partially deployed or failed Workload Domain.
4. Perform a Decommission/Delete operation on the failed Workload Domain to clear the task buffer and release metadata locks.
   • Note: This action is irreversible. It will decommission all deployed ESXi hosts and clusters. We strongly recommend contacting Broadcom Support for guidance before proceeding with the deletion.

Step 2: Credential Remediation

Once the inventory is in a "Stable" state:

1. Navigate to Administration > Password Management.
2. Locate the Backup service account.
3. Select the account and click Remediate (or Rotate if remediation is not an option).
4. Monitor the task in the Task Panel to ensure the status moves to Successful.

Step 3: Validation

1. Verify the account status has returned to Active/Connected within the Dashboard.
2. Navigate to Backup Management.
3. Trigger a Backup Now operation to ensure authentication is successful and the backup bundle is generated correctly.