Connection Timed Out Error When Configuring Offline Depot in VCF Operations

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• Linking the offline repository to a VCF Operations instance fails with the error: "Connection failed - connect timed out" when viewing certificate

Environment

• VCF Operations 9.0.x
• Fleet Management 9.0.x

Resolution

1. Verify network connectivity on port 443 from the Fleet Management appliance to the offline depot server.
2. Ensure firewall rules allow bidirectional traffic on port 443 between these components.
3. Sign into the Fleet Management ssh session as root.
4. Run the command to export the certificate: 

   openssl s_client -connect ####:443 -showcerts /dev/null | openssl x509 -outform PEM > /tmp/depot-selfsigned.crt

5. Append the certificate to the CA bundle: 

   cat /tmp/depot-selfsigned.crt >> /etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt

6. Import the certificate into the keystore: 

   keytool -importcert -alias offline-depot-cert -file /tmp/depot-selfsigned.crt --cacerts

7. Retry the connection.