"MACHINE_SSL_CERT certificate in VECS is about to expire" alarm in vCenter Server

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

The vCenter Server UI displays the alarm "MACHINE_SSL_CERT certificate in VECS is about to expire".

Verification of the system certificates confirms that the MACHINE_SSL_CERT and other certificates in VECS are currently up to date and not expiring:

for i in $(/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli store list); do echo STORE $i; /usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store $i --text | egrep "Alias|Not After"; done

Environment

VMware vCenter Server

Cause

The alarm is a stale message that remained triggered from a previous state and failed to clear automatically after certificate renewal or replacement.

Resolution

• Log in to the vSphere Client.
• Select the vCenter Server object in the inventory.
• Navigate to the Monitor tab and select Triggered Alarms.
• Locate the "MACHINE_SSL_CERT certificate in VECS is about to expire" alarm.
• Select the alarm and click Reset to Green.
• Monitor the system to confirm the alarm does not re-trigger.