VM network name/port group mismatch between vCenter and Aria Automation

Products

VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

Discovered VM Network Details: After the VM is discovered in Aria Automation, reviewing the network details of the discovered VM shows the network name as "Network Adapter1" and the correct IP address. Currently after initial discovery if the port group changes on a VM the network in Aria Automation is not updated so it does not reflect the current network connection.

Onboarded Deployment Details: However, after successfully completing the onboarding process, the original discovered network will show and not the current connected network. Some onboarding failure may occur due to this issue.

Environment

VMware Aria Automation 8.18.1
VCF Automation 9.0.2

Resolution

Step 1: Import vRO Package

To import a package (com.vmware.pve.update-discovered-VM-Networks.package) into VMware vRealize Orchestrator (vRO) 8.x, follow these steps in the Automation Orchestrator Client:

Access Packages: Log in to the vRO Client and navigate to Assets > Packages on the left-hand menu.
Initiate Import: Click the Import button located at the top of the main pane.
Select File: Click Browse (or simply "Open" depending on your browser), locate your .package file, and select it (Package Name: com.vmware.pve.update-discovered-VM-Networks.package).
Review Content:
General Tab: Review basic info like the name, description, and number of items. You may need to trust the publisher certificate if prompted.
Package Elements: Choose specific objects to import. By default, all elements are selected.
Finalize: Click the Import button at the bottom of the window to complete the process.

Step 2: Pre-requisites vRO Configurations

Validate that all the Aria Automation vCenter Cloud Accounts are configured in Orchestrators inventory.

Log into Automation Assembler selecting Infrastructure then cloud accounts take note of the list of vCenter Cloud Accounts.
Log into Orchestrator clicking on Administration > Inventory expand vSphere vCenter Server. Validate all the same vCenter Cloud Accounts in Aria Automation are also in the vRO inventory as shown in the image below.

Note: If some of the vCenters are missing in vRO they must be added for a complete execution of this solution

Adding missing vCenter endpoints to vRO: Run the workflow “Add a vCenter Server instance” Located in Library > Workflows > Library > vCenter > Configuration.
Note: When executing this workflow and vCenter is using self-signed Certificates it's best to ignore certificate warnings and in the “Set the connection properties” tab uncheck the check box to create a shared session.

Step 3: Execute vRO Workflow

Locate Workflow: Navigate to Library > Workflows > PVE > Network. Select the workflow “Update Discovered VM network interfaces” then click on run.

Workflow Inputs

vRA Host: Select the vRA endpoint with owner permissions if you select Default then it uses the person logging in to vRO permissions.
Update From CSV File: When set to true will allow you to select a CSV file with a list of VM’s you want to update NIC port groups.

Note: Review CSV Output section before selecting this as true.

Execute Dry Run: When this is selected the workflow will execute and only record Discovered VM’s with NIC not connected to the correct port group and produce a CSV resource file that can be reviewed and edited to be used when selecting “Update From CSV File”.

When Executing the workflow with “Update From CSV File” selected it will require you to select a CSV File as input. This file will have a list of VM’s that you want to fix NIC port group assignment.

Step 4: Review CSV Output

Everytime you execute the “Update Discovery VM network interfaces” workflow a CSV timestamped resource is generated and can be located in vRO by Navigating to Assets > Resources > PVE > Network > Updates folder.

If you want to only fix a subset of machines, export this resource as shown below, then edit the CSV file and remove all the lines you do not wish to update/fix port assignment in Aria Automation.