Configuration Drift fails to retrieve access_settings data in Aria Operations

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

When creating a Config Template in Aria Operations > Operations > Configurations Drifts, the access_settings section under the appliance configuration (in Stage 3 - Configuration Settings > Expand appliance > Select access_settings > Next) appears blank or fails to return data.

Symptoms include:

• Stage 3 of the Template Creation wizard shows no data for access_settings. (As shown in the screenshot below)

• vCenter is incorrectly reported as "Compliant" despite having drift.

• No errors are seen during the "Test Connection" of the vCenter integration.

Environment

Aria Operations 8.18.x

Cause

This is due to a security limitation within the vCenter Server API. The endpoints responsible for exposing appliance-level access_settings are restricted by vCenter to the local administrator. Standard domain-based service accounts—even those assigned the "Administrator" role—are denied access to these specific security metadata fields.

Resolution

To successfully monitor access_settings via Configuration Drift, the vCenter integration must be configured with the local administrator account:

1. Navigate to Administration > Integrations > vCenter.

2. Edit the affected vCenter instance.

3. Update the credentials to use [email protected] (or the equivalent local SSO administrator for your environment).

4. Save the integration after verifying the connection is successful.

5. Navigate to Operations > Configurations Drifts, edit your template, and confirm that data is now visible under Stage 3 > access_settings.

 

Note: This specific limitation has been addressed in the VCF Operations 9.x release, which offers expanded API access for service accounts with Administrator role.