Aria Operations UI Fails to load "This website is not reachable" using VIP FQDN

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• Attempting to access the Aria Operations Portal using the LB VIP FQDN, fails to redirect to the Aria Operations UI "This website is not reachable"
• The portal is accessible when attempting to access using node'(s) FQDN directly.

Environment

• Aria Operations 8.18.x

Cause

• This could be caused by various reasons:
  • Underlying network connectivity issues from the source machine where the portal is being accessed.
  • Issues with the underlying LB hosting the VIP.
  • VIP FQDN mismatch/ absent on the SAN field of the Aria Operations certificate. 
  • One of the node's running short on disk space.
  • Mismatch / incorrect System Access URL.

Resolution

1. Access Validation:
   • Attempt to access the portal using the FQDN of each of the cluster nodes (primary and replica nodes) directly. 
   • If one or more nodes fail to load the UI, it could cause access issues intermittently when the further LB redirects traffic to the nodes. 
2. Load Balancer Validation:
   • Validate that the Load Balancer hosting the Aria Operations VIP (NSX, F5, Citrix NetScaler) is accessible and healthy. 
   • Validate the Aria Operations virtual server / monitor / server pools on the LB are configured correctly and confirm the status check is successful and healthy.
     Reference : VMware Aria Operations Load Balancing Guide
3. Cluster Health:
   • Login to the Aria Operations Admin Portal (https://<aria_ops_fqdn>/admin) using the Primary node FQDN.
   • Navigate to System Status Tab and validate the cluster status and node status:
   • Expected status: 
     • Cluster status: Online
       
       • If the cluster is marked offline: Take cluster online. 
       • In case of failure. Review KB375791 
     • Node State / Status: Running / Online
       • In case of deviation. or node marked in "Waiting for analytics", refer KB372809
       • Validate that none of the nodes have any disk space constraints. Refer KB318408
4. Network Validations:
   • Source validations:
     • Attempt to access the Aria Operations portal using the VIP FQDN from a different browser / jump host / machine.
     • If it is accessible from other source machines, validate underlying network connectivity from the source machine.
       • Validate ports and firewall rules on the source machine.
   • Ports and Firewalls on Aria Operations:
     • Aria Operations require the following ports to be open and accessible:
       KB420396
5. Certificate SAN Validation:
   • Aria Operations requires that the SSL certificates on the cluster nodes include the Load Balancer VIP FQDN.
   • Requirement: The certificate DNS name must match the FQDN used for the load balancer. If the LB FQDN is not in the certificate SAN, the connection may be dropped or rejected by the browser/client.
     Refer How to Handle SSL UI Certificates with a Load Balancer for more details.
   • If required, recreate and replace the certificate on the Aria operations. Refer KB320343.
6. Validate System Access URL:
   • Login to the Aria Operations Portal using the Primary node FQDN.
   • Go to Administration > Global Settings > System Settings.
   • Ensure the System access URL is set to the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) of the Load Balancer VIP.