vCenter Server Hostname Reverts to Localhost After Upgrading to 9.0.2.0

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Following a successful vCenter Server upgrade from version 8.0 U3i to 9.0.2.0, the target appliance's operating system hostname incorrectly updates to localhost. All core vCenter services successfully initialize and run normally; however, there is a desynchronization between the vCenter Primary Network Identifier (PNID) and the active operating system hostname.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8x

VMware vCenter Server 9x

Cause

The operating system network configuration fails to retain the migrated hostname during the cutover to vCenter 9.0.2.0, defaulting the local OS network identity to localhost despite a successful overall upgrade process.

Resolution

1. Log in to the target vCenter Server appliance via SSH or the virtual machine console.
2. Retrieve the expected PNID from the authentication framework by executing the following command: /usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-pnid --server-name localhost
3. Verify the active operating system hostname by executing: hostname -f
4. Confirm that the output of step 3 (localhost) does not match the expected PNID from step 2.
5. Resynchronize the operating system hostname to the correct PNID using the VAMI utility: /opt/vmware/share/vami/vami_set_hostname <PNID>
6. Reboot the vCenter Server appliance to apply the network identity change across the operating system layer.