Error "VMware Cloud Foundation Operations is not reachable. Please check the connection." observed when trying to populate details in vCenter native plugin for VCF Operations

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

When navigating to the vROps plugin page in vCenter, users are unable to populate details in the UI. The system displays the following error message: "VMware Cloud Foundation Operations is not reachable. Please check the connection.".

Environment

• VCF Operations 9.1.x
• vCenter 9.1.x

Cause

• The root cause is that the database contains two adapter instance entries with the exact same VC GUID.
• A VC GUID must be unique and should only match a single VC adapter instance ID.
• When the Ops REST API attempts to log in using the VC session, it tries to validate the session by sending it back to the vCenter.
• The Ops plugin stores an internal ID and VC GUID mapping in the database to help route the validated session back to the correct vCenter.
• Due to the duplicate GUID entries in the database, the Ops plugin sends the session to the incorrect vCenter instance.
• The incorrect vCenter responds with an invalid token exception because it receives a session belonging to a different vCenter.

Resolution

To resolve the "VMware Cloud Foundation Operations is not reachable" 401 error caused by duplicate GUIDs, you must delete the incorrect entry from the database by following these manual steps:

1. Connect to the vCenter via SSH as root user.
2. Retrieve the vCenter instance UUID by running the command: 

   cat /etc/vmware-vpx/instance.cfg

3. Locate the instanceUuid line in the output (for example: instanceUuid=########-####-####-####-############).
4. Connect to the vCenter Operations Database using the command: 

   su postgres -c "/opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -d vcopsdb -p 5433"

5. Check for duplicate GUID entries using the command: 

   select * from kv_auth where objecttype like '%GUUID%';

6. Ensure you replace "GUUID" with the actual UUID retrieved in step 2, while retaining the % wildcards.
7. If more than one row is listed, navigate to Administration ➔ Configurations ➔ Inventory Management in the UI.
8. Copy the value of vcHostIdStr from a row and paste it into the Inventory Management filter.
9. If the VC Instance does not belong to the correct vCenter server from step 2, delete the record using the command: 

   select * from kv_auth where objecttype like '%vcHostIdStr value%';

10. Reload the vCenter vRealize Operations (vROps) plugin page after removing all conflicting records containing the duplicated GUID.