Duplicate hostnames generated for different virtual machines in VMware Aria Automation 8.18.x

Products

• VCF Automation

Issue/Introduction

• In VMware Aria Automation 8.18.x, you may experience an issue where two different virtual machines are assigned the same hostname when using the Custom Names scope at the project level and when it is associated with multiple projects. This behavior occurs intermittently across the same or different projects and can lead to deployment failures or IP/DNS conflicts when the second virtual machine attempts to join the network.
• Additionally, the current counter value for multiple projects may appear different under the Assigned Projects tab in the UI.
  
  
  
  

Environment

VMware Aria Automation 8.18.x

Cause

This issue is caused by a limitation in the Legacy Custom Naming engine which can occasionally generate duplicate strings when multiple deployments are triggered simultaneously or when the naming template does not include enough unique identifiers. This issue can also occur if time drift (NTP) exists between a 3-node Aria Automation cluster.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, follow the applicable steps below based on your environment.

For a Single Project

The permanent fix for this behavior is to migrate to the New Custom Naming feature introduced in version 8.18.

1. Log in to VMware Aria Automation.

2. Navigate to Infrastructure > Administration > Custom Names.

3. Enable and configure the New Custom Naming engine.

Note: Validate these naming templates in a test environment first, as the configuration logic differs from the legacy version.

For Multiple Projects

You can resolve the issue using either of the following options:

Option 1: Update your existing naming template to include unique variables:

Modify the existing naming template to include additional unique variables (${project.name}) to ensure hostname uniqueness across projects.

Example

${resource.namingStandardPrefix}${resource.environment}${project.name}${resource.namingStandardSuffix}Z${####}

Option 2: Use a Custom Property and override the value during deployment time:

Use a custom property and override the value during deployment time to ensure uniqueness across projects.

Example:

${resource.namingStandardPrefix}${resource.environment}${myprop.projectCode}${resource.namingStandardSuffix}Z${####}

 

Additional Information

Additional Information

For users upgrading from 8.x to 9.x (Soft Tenancy), your existing custom naming configuration will remain the same.

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