Aria Suite Lifecycle SMTP Configuration Fails to sent test email When FIPS is Enabled

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

SMTP configuration from Aria Suite Lifecycle fails to send a test email. A curl test from the Aria Suite Lifecycle appliance to the SMTP server passes successfully (e.g., curl -v telnet://<smtp_server>:port).

When reviewing the browser developer tools, the following error is displayed: "Connection time out occur due to invalid port or host name"

Additionally, the vmware_vrlcm.log file records the following warning messages.

/var/log/vrlcm/vmware_vrlcm.log

INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-3] [c.v.v.l.l.u.SettingsHelper] – settings data

{"smtpHostName":"<smpt_server_hostname>","smtpEncryptionPort":"587","authenticationRequired":true,"userName":"<email_id>","password":"##########","encryptionType":"TLS","fromEmail":"<email_id>"}
INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-3] [c.v.v.l.l.s.SettingsServiceImpl] – Create locker reference for <alias> password.
INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-3] [c.v.v.l.c.u.LockerUtil] – locker referehcen:locker:password:########## ##########
INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-3] [c.v.v.l.c.u.LockerUtil] – parse locker:locker:password:########## ##########
INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-3] [c.v.v.l.l.u.SettingsHelper] – Deleting all old password ####### from locker before creation.
INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-3] [c.v.v.l.l.s.LockerReferenceServiceImpl] – Finding references with envId 'smtp', destinationName '<smpt_server_hostname>', type: 'password'
INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-3] [c.v.v.l.l.u.SettingsHelper] – Locker reference creation json : [ {
"vmid" : "<vmid>",
"tenant" : "default",
"lockerId" : "<lockerId>",
"envId" : "smtp",
"destinationName" : "<smpt_server_hostname>",
"referenceType" : "password",
"meta" : "

{\"inventoryOnly\":\"true\",\"user\":\"<smpt_server_hostname>\"}
",
"type" : "settings"
} ]

INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-3] [c.v.v.l.l.u.SettingsHelper] – Status code : 201 , body : [ {
"vmid" : "<vmid>",
"tenant" : "default",
"lockerId" : "<lockerId>",
"envId" : "smtp",
"destinationName" : "<smpt_server_hostname>",
"message" : "Successfully saved reference with envID 'smtp' and destinationName '<smpt_server_hostname>'"
} ]

INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-7] [c.v.v.l.l.u.SettingsHelper] – Final Data : {
"proxyEnabled" : false,
"hostName" : null,
"port" : 0,
"userName" : null,
"password" : null,
"proxyEnabledInContentMgmt" : false,
"noProxyList" : null
}
INFO vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-7] [c.v.v.l.l.u.NotificationUtil] – Proxy is disabled.

WARN vrlcm[1441] [http-nio-8080-exec-6] [c.v.v.l.l.s.LockerReferenceServiceImpl] – Failed to get environment name
com.google.common.cache.CacheLoader$InvalidCacheLoadException: CacheLoader returned null for key smtp.

 

Environment

Aria Suite Lifecycle 8.18.x

Cause

This issue occurs if FIPS mode is enabled on the Aria Suite Lifecycle appliance, but the target SMTP server is not FIPS compliant.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must either disable FIPS mode on the Aria Suite Lifecycle appliance or ensure that the designated SMTP server is fully FIPS compliant.

To disable FIPS mode on Aria Suite Lifecycle:

1. From the My Service dashboard, select Lifecycle Operations, and then select Settings.

2. On the System Administration page, click System Details.

3. Deactivate the FIPS Mode Compliance check box and then click UPDATE.

4. The LCM will restart the services, which should take about 2–3 minutes.

5. Send a test email from the SMTP configuration menu to verify that the receiver successfully receives the mail.

Note: Starting from VCF 9.0 version, FIPS mode will be enabled on all appliances by default and there is no option to disable it. This standardization helps streamline upgrades