Cloud Proxy cannot be re-added to VCF Operations

Products

• VCF Operations
• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

Attempts to re-register or re-connect an existing Cloud Proxy appliance to a VCF Operations cluster fail after the proxy has been removed. This typically occurs when a Cloud Proxy is removed for troubleshooting or during upgrades (such as VCFA upgrade to 9.1) and needs to be restored.

• When trying to add a Cloud Proxy, the only option available is to deploy a new OVA appliance.
• Previously running Cloud Proxy VMs on vCenter cannot be re-linked to the VCF Operations cluster.

Environment

• VCF Operations 9.x
• Aria Operations 8.18.x

Cause

This is expected behavior. A Cloud Proxy appliance cannot be reconnected to the VCF Operations cluster once it has been removed from the inventory within the VCF Operations UI.

Resolution

To reuse the same hostname and IP address for a Cloud Proxy, deploy a new appliance using these steps:

1. Log in to vCenter and locate the old Cloud Proxy appliance VM.
2. Power off the VM and rename it (e.g., old_cloud_proxy_backup). Alternatively, remove it from the vCenter inventory.
3. Log in to the VCF Operations UI.
4. Navigate to Build > Lifecycle > VCF Management > Components > VCF Operations.
5. From the Actions menu, select the option to deploy a new Cloud Proxy.
6. Enter the hostname and IP address used by the previous appliance.
7. Complete the deployment wizard to register the new proxy node.